Shell Shocked
by PagieThePanda
Summary: After a failed kidnap attempt, Merlin begins acting strangely. As Arthur and the others try to figure out what really happened that night, dangerous attacks begin on Camelot. Will Arthur ever discover what's wrong with his servant, or will this just be another one of Merlin's secrets? No slash.
1. The Break In

**Guess what today is? IT'S MY BIRTHDAY! Yay! I decided in order to celebrate, I would post the first chapter of my first multi-chapter fic. This is an idea I've been tossing around in my head for several months, and I'm really excited to finally share it with you all! **

**This takes place after season four, so spoilers throughout all the seasons. Oh, and I don't own Merlin. Not even on my birthday. :(**

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter 1: The Break In

To say that Arthur Pendragon, King of Camelot, was unhappy to be woken up in the middle of the night to the warning bells would not be exactly true. He wasn't unhappy. He was thoroughly, totally, royally furious. He was exhausted and had been looking forward to a nice, long night's sleep without disturbance, and he'd been getting one too, until in the early hours of the morning the bells began to toll.

At first Arthur hid himself deeper in his pillows, hoping beyond hope that it was just his imagination, but as the noise continued he let out an aggravated moan and rolled over in his bed. Beside him Guinevere stirred sleepily.

"Don't tell me that's the warning bells," she murmured, her eyes still closed.

"I wish I could," Arthur responded groggily, trying to work up the resolve to get out of his warm, comfortable, inviting bed. He knew they'd be interrupted any moment by a guard or knight or most likely Merlin, and he'd have to get up to go inspect what was going wrong. It was his duty as king, after all.

Arthur knew he should take this kind of thing seriously, but in all honesty he wasn't feeling too worried. It had been over a year now since Morgana's last take-over of Camelot, and they hadn't heard or seen a thing from her since. No enemy kingdoms had threatened with war, no evil sorceresses had cursed the land with famine, and there hadn't even been any assassination attempts. The bandit attacks in the forest had lessened greatly, there had been a surplus of crops, and the people were taking well to Guinevere as their queen. Things seemed to finally be settling down peacefully, for the first time in many years. Arthur felt lulled into a sense of security, almost forgetting all the dangers he had faced in years past. Whatever was going on tonight would probably end up being something petty, like a simple thief, or maybe it would even all be some huge misunderstanding. A tired guard mistaking a shadow for a threat, or something of that sort.

All these comforting thoughts nearly sent Arthur into his pillows again and back into sleep's warm embrace, when the door crashed open with a bang. Sir Leon stood silhouetted in the doorway, the flickering light from the torches behind him casting strange shadows down the corridor.

"Sire! There has been a break in!" the knight announced. Arthur felt Gwen lightly nudge him when he didn't respond. He groaned and managed to sit up, propping himself up on his elbows.

"What kind of a break in, Leon? Anyone hurt, anything stolen?" He tried not to sound irritated. Leon was just doing his job, no matter how tired Arthur was.

"We don't know if anything's been stolen yet, sire," Leon explained as Arthur heaved himself out of bed and pulled a shirt from his closet. "The damage in the area is too great to be able to tell as of now. As for if anyone was hurt, a few guards, Gaius and Merlin were knocked unconscious, but they are recovering-"

"Wait, Gaius and Merlin?" Arthur interrupted, frowning at the knight in confusion as he pulled on his shoes. "What were they doing down in the vaults?"

"The break in wasn't in the vaults, sire," Leon responded, looking between the king and the queen, who was now sitting up in bed, wide-eyed and listening. "It was in Gaius's chambers."

"But…but that makes no sense. There isn't anything in Gaius's chambers worth stealing… is there?" Gwen asked uncertainly. She pushed herself out of her side of the bed and pulled on a silk robe hanging on the wall beside her.

"No, there isn't, as far as I know," Arthur said. He glanced over at his wife, who was now slipping on a pair of her own shoes. "Guinevere, you should remain here. There's no need for you to-"

"Arthur, Merlin and Gaius are my friends. I want to make sure they're alright," she said, striding towards the door.

Leon opened his mouth to argue. "But Gwen, there was a break in, who knows what kind of miscreants might be sneaking around the castle now-"

"All the more reason for me to go with you, where there will be plenty of knights and guards, rather than stay here alone in my room," Gwen said firmly. "Now come on, we're wasting time."

She stepped past Leon and began walking directly down the corridor. Arthur glanced at Leon, shrugged, and then followed his queen down the hall. He couldn't help but smile at her as she hurried towards the physician's quarters. Her love for others was one of the reasons Arthur loved her so much. He had certainly chosen well.

Arthur didn't necessarily hurry to Gaius's chambers, but he didn't dawdle either. Despite the fact that he'd never admit it aloud, he'd felt a pang of worry when he'd heard Merlin and Gaius had been hurt. He was reassured when Leon said they were recovering, but he was like Gwen: he had to see for himself. Gaius had been a kindly father figure toward him since he was a child and his skills as a physician had probably saved his life many times over. And Merlin…

Arthur would be lying if he didn't admit that his servant had somehow wormed his way into being his best friend. The young man had picked Arthur back up again when he'd been stuck wallowing in his deepest, darkest moments, and had even saved his life few times. He'd always been there for Arthur, always believed in him.

And he'd led him to getting a great new sword, Excalibur. Great new swords are always a plus in a manly friendship.

Guinevere arrived at Gaius's chambers first. She took one look into the room and froze, a look of dismay on her face. When Arthur caught up to her, Leon directly behind, he nearly did the same. The room was a complete wreck. Every piece of furniture had been overturned and was scattered haphazardly around the room. The shelves Gaius had carefully organized with herbs, potions, and books on healing had all been knocked over, scattering their contents all over the floor. There was broken glass and ripped pages from books littering the ground. A few of the potions had mixed in the wreckage and were now smoking and letting out sour-smelling fumes.

Arthur was so astonished by the scene he almost didn't realize that they weren't alone. Gwaine and Percival were standing the back corner beside a bench they had uprighted. Gaius was sitting on the bench looking mournful. Merlin sat on the ground by Gaius, leaning awkwardly against the bench. Arthur did a quick look-over of his physician and servant. Gaius seemed fine, besides being obviously distraught over what had just taken place. Merlin looked like he was going to be fine as well, but he'd clearly been a bit more roughed up in the attack than his mentor. He was as white as a sheet and there was a patch in his dark hair made sticky with blood.

Gwen broke out of the freeze first and hurried over to Merlin and Gaius. "Merlin, Gaius, are you alright? What happened?" she cried, kneeling beside Merlin. She grabbed a rag from the ground and began to dab at Merlin's head. Merlin shook his head and pushed her hand away.

"Would someone please tell us what happened?" Arthur said, his voice firm. Gaius looked up at the young king.

"Of course, sire. Merlin and I were both asleep in our beds when I was woken up to voices. I sat up in bed and called out to see who was there, and the next thing I knew this was being pressed up to my mouth and nose." The physician held up a small white bundle. When Arthur took it he recognized it to be full of a sleep-inducing drug.

"Before I lost consciousness, I managed to make enough noise that it woke Merlin. The last thing I remember is seeing him open his door."

Arthur turned his gaze to his manservant, who was being unusually quiet. Merlin wouldn't meet his eyes and he was still refusing to let Gwen help him.

"What happened, Merlin?" He asked. Merlin just shook his head, staring stonily at the floor beside him. Gwen looked up at Arthur with concerned eyes. He knew what she was thinking- something horrible must have happened for Merlin to react this way. Merlin always bounced back easily from situations like this, and he was NEVER silent. Not even when they wanted him to be.

"Come on, you dollop-head, talk to me," he tried again. Still no response, not even a sarcastic comment about how that was his word.

Arthur looked questioningly at Gwaine and Percival, but they only exchanged glances and looked grim.

"Don't look at us, princess, we're as in the dark as you are," Gwaine said.

"I was taking Gwaine home from the tavern when we saw a few guards knocked out at their station," Percival explained. "We sounded the alarm and woke Leon and Elyan, then began to search for any intruders. We didn't find any, so we returned to take the injured guards to Gaius. By the time we got here, we found the room like this with Gaius and Merlin unconscious."

"Where's Elyan now?" Gwen asked, suddenly aware her brother was not among them.

"He's attending to the guards. Neither was permanently damaged, just knocked up a bit, so Elyan was going to help them back to their chambers," Gwaine said. The knight was eyeing Merlin with worry. Arthur couldn't help but begin to feel worried as well. What had really occurred was still a mystery, and the only person who knew was not in a state to speak.

"Do we have any idea at all of what the intent of the attack was?" Arthur said, trying to gain some control over the situation. Gwen had given up trying to clean Merlin's head and had to be satisfied with just gripping his hand and hugging him. Under normal circumstances, Arthur would have teased Merlin about getting too close to the queen, but this situation was anything but normal.

Gaius shook his head slowly. "It is possible they came to steal something sire, but it will be very hard to tell if anything was taken until this mess gets cleaned up." He let out a sigh, and Arthur felt a pang of sympathy for the old physician. This was his home, after all, and scattered all over the floor in pieces was his life's work. It would be very difficult to reclaim everything, maybe even impossible.

"However," Gaius continued, "It is my theory that nothing was stolen. There is not anything in here worth such an extravagant intrusion, and anything that could have been worth anything has been destroyed."

"What could the attack have been for then? Why would anyone break into the castle just to destroy Gaius's home?" Leon said, looking perplexed.

"And hurt Merlin like this," Gwen added, squeezing Merlin's hand tighter. He still showed no response. She looked up at Gaius. "Do you know what's wrong with him?"

Gaius shook his head. "Besides a hit to the head, he appears completely unharmed. The only possible condition I can think of is that he is in extreme shock."

Arthur clenched his jaw in anger, and he saw Gwaine tighten his grip around the hilt of his sword. Someone had done this to Merlin. Someone had done something that had reduced him to this empty shell of his best friend, and for no apparent motive.

"I can't believe any of this," Arthur spat. "Why would anyone go through all this trouble just to hurt Merlin? It doesn't make sense."

"I know why," came a quiet voice from the floor. There was a collective gasp of surprise as everyone's gazes snapped to Merlin at once. He still wouldn't look up from the floor.

"Why? What happened to you Merlin?" Arthur said quickly, kneeling down until he was at eye level with his servant. Slowly, Merlin's head came up until he was looking into the king's eyes. Arthur's heart nearly skipped a beat at the hollowness he saw there.

"They didn't succeed. But they got close," Merlin muttered.

"Got close to doing what?" Gwen whispered.

"Taking me. The intruders came to kidnap me."

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**Oooo! Intriging, right? **

**Know what I want for my birthday? REVIEWS! And Colin Morgan, but I think that's a bit of a stretch. :) So please grant my birthday wish and write me a little something. Constructive critisim is always welcome, so if you hated it, you can tell me that too. But nicely, please. It is my birthday. :)**

**I'll be updating probably once or twice a week. Keep an eye out for the next chapter!**


	2. Magic is Evil?

**Wow. I am utterly, totally, completely stunned. 21 reviews within the first day? You guys are amazing! It was the best birthday present ever! I swear, I kept checking my email all day and every time I did there was another review, or favorite, or follow. You guys are the best! **

**I hope this chapter lives up to your expectations. It's not as suspenseful as the first one, but it's starting to set up the rest of the plot. :)**

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter 2: Magic is Evil?

There was a moment of stunned silence.

"What?" Arthur said, not quite believing it. "But you're just a servant! You'd carry no ransom!"

Merlin looked away from Arthur and shrank back a bit. His lips had sealed again in a tight, white line. They weren't getting anything else from him tonight.

Gwaine growled. "Wait, Arthur, you're telling me that if the kidnap had been successful, and a ransom had been asked of you, you wouldn't have paid it? You would've let them keep Merlin?"

"I don't know what I would've done!" Arthur snapped. Now that some of the adrenaline from the situation was beginning to wear off, the king was remembering how tired he was and how unhappy he was to be out of bed. He REALLY didn't need Gwaine yelling at him right now.

"Arthur is the king, Gwaine," Leon interjected. "He can't show his weaknesses by giving in to villains, no matter what is at stake."

Arthur was grateful for Leon's support, but despite what he'd said he knew he would have paid the ransom. Just the idea that someone had attempted to kidnap his servant sent bolts of nervous anger into his stomach. Gwaine didn't look happy at being told off, but he settled for simply glaring at Leon instead of arguing further.

"Look, everyone, this isn't helping anything," Gwen said pleadingly. "It doesn't matter what Arthur would've done, because Merlin was _not_ kidnapped. He's here. He's fine. And he's probably very tired and shocked. He needs rest."

"Gwen is right," Gaius added. "We need to find somewhere Merlin can get some rest before we discuss this further. In fact," he said, looking at all the fatigued faces around him, "it seems to me we could all use some rest."

Arthur's head was whirling with questions, but he knew Gaius was right. Everyone was too tired and upset right now for anything to be made clearer. And Gwen was right as well. Merlin was still here. The intruders were not successful. Tomorrow they would gather again and go over details to try to solve this mystery, but for now all they could do was rest.

Gwaine and Gwen helped Merlin to his feet, but it seemed he could walk just fine once he was on them. Gwen still clung to him though, as if her grip was the only thing keeping him safely here in Camelot. They decided that Gaius and Merlin would stay in one of the empty guest rooms for the time being. On the way there they bumped into Elyan, and they explained what they understood of the situation to him. He seemed shocked to hear of the abduction attempt, but relieved to hear both Gaius and Merlin would be fine.

Once they were settled into their new room, the knights left Merlin and Gaius to return to their own chambers. Gwen helped Merlin into bed, and then began to head back to her room. She stopped when she saw that Arthur was still lingering in the doorway.

"He's alright, Arthur," she said softly, wrapping her arm around his waist. Arthur nodded, but didn't move. Gwen stayed where she was, watching her husband quietly. "What's wrong?"

Arthur's face had softened with a concern that Gwen knew he would only show in private. He sighed and rubbed his face with one of his hands.

"I just…never thought about this before. That Merlin could be targeted like this. He always seemed so… safe."

Gwen lifted herself on her tiptoes and kissed Arthur on the cheek. "We'll figure it all out in the morning. Merlin's safe now, Arthur. There's nothing more you can do."

Arthur nodded once, and then turned away from the doorway, closing the door behind him. He slipped an arm around his wife and together they walked back to the royal chambers.

Inside the guest bedroom, Merlin lay awake, listening as the king and queen slowly walked out of earshot. Once their footsteps had disappeared down the hall, a small, guilty frown found its way onto his face.

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"Is everyone here?" Arthur asked, looking at the people gathered around him. They were all seated at the round table, Gwaine, Elyan, Percival, Leon, Gwen, Gaius, and the two guards that had been knocked unconscious. Merlin was there too, his face a little more colored than it had been the night before and looking much more like his old self. Arthur was relieved to see Merlin was coming back, but had still told him to take a day or two off so he could recuperate fully. Despite what Merlin had told them the night before, Arthur had a feeling his servant was still hiding something. It didn't make sense that he would react in such a way, even after an attempted kidnapping. And that worried Arthur. What could possibly have happened that Merlin didn't want to tell anyone?

"I believe so, sire," Leon replied, doing a quick head count.

"Good," Arthur said. He took a deep breath. "We all want to understand in full what took place last night, and so we must hear the truth from everyone who was a witness to some part of the intrusion. If we can, we will begin with Gwaine and Percival."

Even though nearly everyone at the table had already heard Gwaine and Percival's story, it was important that all the facts were laid bare once again. The two knights said what they had observed and done, and then it moved to Leon and Elyan. The guards were next. Their story was very similar to Gaius's. They had heard voices and saw two men approaching, but before they could do anything they were knocked out by the drug. Gaius told his story after they were finished, and finally they came to a stop at Merlin.

Throughout the entire process Merlin hadn't said a word, staring at the table. It reminded Arthur of how he'd acted last night, and that made his stomach clench uncomfortably.

"Merlin," the king said carefully. "I know this may be difficult, but we really need to know what they did to you."

Gwen shifted in her seat, glancing between her husband and her best friend. The knights looked anxious, especially Gwaine. Everyone was hanging on what Merlin would say.

"Please, Merlin," Arthur added, almost as an afterthought.

Slowly, Merlin lifted his head and looked at his friends. "I know. I'll tell you what happened to me." His voice was strong and his eyes had some of their old fire in them. He took a deep breath.

"I was asleep in my bed when I heard some voices outside my door. Then I heard Gaius calling out, and then a scuffle and Gaius was silent. I opened my door to find out what was going on, and I saw two men in dark cloaks. Gaius was lying unconscious on the floor. I yelled at them, asked them what they had done to Gaius and what they were doing in here. They didn't say anything, but then one of them lifted his hand and spoke some strange words at me, his eyes turning gold. He was using magic, Arthur," Merlin said, his voice trembling.

Arthur clenched his hand into a fist. Once again sorcery was responsible for hurting those he cared for.

"I've never been more frightened in my life," Merlin continued. "I've never had to face such a direct attack from magic before. I had no idea what to do, and we all know how evil magic is."

Out of the corner of his eye, Arthur thought he saw Gaius give Merlin a surprised and confused look, but the king thought nothing of it. There were more important things to think about at the moment.

"He flung me against the wall, where I hit my head. Things got a bit fuzzy then, but I remember trying to get away. I couldn't. The sorcerer used magic to hold me down, and he destroyed all of Gaius's things. I couldn't understand what was going on. I thought they were going to kill me. But then the one without magic stopped the sorcerer, and said something about not making too much noise, and to hurry up and put me to sleep so they could take me. The sorcerer came towards me, his eyes glowing gold, and placed his hand on my forehead. I could feel myself slipping away, but then something stopped the sorcerer. I didn't understand what was going on at the time, but now I realize it was the alarm bells."

"The sorcerer stepped away from me and he and the other man fled from the room. I was so exhausted and I think some of the sleeping spell was still lingering on me, and so I passed out. The next thing I remember is Gwaine waking me." Merlin's eyes flashed toward the knight, who gave him a warm smile.

There was a moment of silence as everyone let Merlin's story sink in.

"I don't understand," Elyan said suddenly. "If one of the men was a sorcerer, I'm sure he could have used magic to escape with Merlin in tow, alarm bells or not."

"It doesn't matter," Gwen said quickly. "We should all just be grateful they didn't take Merlin."

Everyone nodded and muttered in assent. Merlin's gaze had returned to the table. He was shaking slightly, as though still disturbed by the memory. No one seemed surprised to learn a sorcerer had been behind the whole thing. No one, that is, but the court physician. Arthur could see that Gaius was still frowning at his ward as though he'd just pronounced that his favorite pastime was pure evil.

"Is something wrong, Gaius?" Arthur asked. Gaius looked startled at the sudden attention, but shook his head.

"No, nothing sire, I just have worries about the implications behind this attack. While it is now clear that two men, one a sorcerer, broke into the castle last night, ransacked my home and attempted to abduct my ward, it is still a mystery what their motive was." Gaius's smile didn't meet his eyes.

"Merlin, did the men say anything about why they were trying to kidnap you?" Percival asked kindly. Merlin shook his head.

"No, at least not that I remember. Everything I know I have just told you."

"Could Morgana be behind it?" Leon suggested. Arthur stiffened at the mention of his half-sister, but shook his head.

"I don't think so. What could she possibly gain from taking Merlin?"

"I don't think we can rule her out just yet," Gwaine put in. "I mean, it's just as likely she's behind it as anyone else. More so, in fact. How many times has she tried to take over Camelot? And how many times has she succeeded?"

"But we haven't heard from her in over a year-" Arthur started.

"All the more reason for her to be a suspect. Come on princess, do you really think she's just going to disappear forever?" Gwaine said, raising his eyebrows incredulously.

"Maybe it was one of Camelot's other enemies. Odin was responsible for many assassination attempts in the past, why not this?" Elyan said.

"Because Odin has always targeted me," Arthur explained. "Never my servant."

"Listen, everyone," Gwen said. "This arguing isn't going to get us anywhere. The first thing we need to do is find the men who broke in. We can discover their motives and who is behind it all from them."

Arthur gave Gwen's hand a squeeze. "The queen is right, of course. Who is willing to head an investigation to find these men?"

Arthur was not surprised to have Gwaine volunteer loudly. The other knights agreed to as well, and the meeting was adjourned. Arthur tried to convince himself that he was satisfied with what they had, but the truth is that he wasn't. He watched as Merlin and Gaius stood up and left the room together. A strange, uneasy feeling was settling in his stomach. Arthur still didn't think Merlin had told them everything, but he had no idea what more Merlin could be hiding. Or even why he would hide it. The shocked expression on Gaius's face when Merlin had stated that magic was evil kept replaying in his mind. Something certainly wasn't right here.

That, and honestly Arthur missed his care-free, talkative servant. It had been strange not having him wake him and Gwen up that morning. Later, Arthur promised himself, he'd go talk to Merlin. Alone. He had the feeling Merlin would reveal more to the king in private than he would in such a public place.

At least, Arthur could hope that.

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**Merlin said whaaaat? Crazy, right? What on earth's wrong with him? You'll have to keep reading to find out... ;)**

**Review please! **


	3. Suspicion and Concern

**Alright, here's capitulo tres! I'm really excited to share this one with you all. Of course, I'm always excited to share a new chapter... but whatever. **

**And again, thank you so much to all my reviewers! I would write a thank you and a response to each one, but that would take too much time... so thanks again! **

**If you want to see a great picture of what Gaius's face looked like when Merlin said magic was evil last chapter, check out this link without the spaces (provided very kindly by M. Monty... thanks a ton! the picture looks awesome!)**

**: / i1048. photobucket albums/s379/Mo_Monty/ weaw e. jpg**

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter 3: Suspicion and Concern

Gaius was suspicious.

Of course, this was nothing new. Having lived in Camelot his whole life, Gaius was often suspicious. The kingdom was known for having had a surprising number of traitors over the past few years and Gaius had always suspected them before they were revealed. Never before, however, had Gaius been suspicious of Merlin.

He hadn't thought too much about Merlin's behavior on the actual night of the attack. He had been too distraught and distracted by everything else to think much on it. But the next morning he began to realize just how oddly his ward had acted.

Gaius knew about the many secret adventures Merlin had gone on to defend Arthur and Camelot, and he knew that a situation like this, while it was shocking and horrible, was in no way the most scarring thing the young man had ever gone through. And then there was the fact that Merlin had called magic evil. No one else in the room had realized how wrong that statement was coming from Merlin's lips. Merlin was the prophesized Emrys, the most powerful warlock in history, and destined to bring magic back to Camelot. He had been working for years to soften Arthur's heart towards magic. Why would he blurt out that magic was evil?

Merlin was definitely hiding something. And Gaius was determined to discover what.

"Are you feeling alright, Merlin?" the old physician asked as they walked down the hall together, leaving the council room behind. Merlin just shrugged. Gaius waited a few more steps before continuing. "You know you can trust me."

"Of course I trust you," Merlin said quickly.

"And yet," Gaius said, his eyebrow raised, "you have not told me what _really_ happened last night."

Merlin froze, looking startled. "Wha… What do you mean?"

"Merlin, I know you better than anybody. You have lived with me ever since you arrived in Camelot. You may be able to fool Arthur, Gwen, and the knights, but you can't fool me. What really happened?"

"I didn't lie!" Merlin snapped suddenly. "Everything I said is perfectly true!"

"I never said that you lied," Gaius assured him. "I just know when you don't reveal everything."

"I'm not hiding anything," Merlin said firmly. His eyes were shifting from side to side uneasily.

"Please, Merlin. Tell me what's wrong," Gaius pleaded, grabbing Merlin's arm. Merlin stiffened and jerked out of Gaius's grip.

"I can't," he said simply. He set his jaw firmly and began to walk briskly down the hall, away from Gaius. The physician hurried to keep up, bewildered by his ward's behavior.

"Merlin, I want to help you!" he called, panting slightly as he tried to keep up. "I know something's bothering you, you just need to tell me what!"

"You want to help me?" Merlin called back to him, not slowing in his pace.

"Yes, Merlin, just like I always do!" Gaius had to stop, leaning against the wall and breathing heavily. Merlin stopped walking and turned to face the old physician.

"Like you always do," Merlin repeated. He gave Gaius a long look. For some reason Gaius felt a shiver run down his spine. The thought crossed his mind that things may be even worse off than he had initially suspected they were.

"Alright, Gaius. I can tell you one thing. But I can't… I can't say anything more. It could be too dangerous. He might…" Merlin stammered to a halt. "He might…."

"Who might do what, Merlin?" Gaius said, staring at his ward with concern. Merlin stood silently for a moment, struggling to find words.

"I can only tell you a name. Grayton."

"Who is he, Merlin? Is he one of the men who tried to kidnap you?" Gaius asked quickly. He was wracking his mind, trying to think of any familiarity he had with that name. He was drawing a blank.

Merlin shook his head. "I… I'm sorry Gaius. I wish I could tell you more, I really, really do. But I can't. Just… look up Grayton, will you?"

The desperation and guilt in Merlin's voice was almost heartbreaking. Gaius wanted to pull him into a hug and reassure him, tell him everything would be alright, but how could he do that when he didn't even know what was upsetting the boy in the first place?

Every one of Gaius's instincts were telling him to keep on questioning Merlin, to not stop until he knew the truth, but his heart knew when it had been enough. He wasn't going to get anything more out of Merlin today.

"Alright, my boy. I'll research Grayton. I wish you would tell me more…but I will let it rest for now. Please know I want to help you as much as I can." Gaius gave Merlin's arm a gentle squeeze. Merlin replied with a weak smile, and then he turned and walked away. Gaius watched him go, not bothering to chase after him this time.

Gaius did not feel satisfied. If anything, he was even more worried and suspicious than he had been before. Merlin never held his secrets back from Gaius. He was the one person in Camelot Merlin could confide in. The only reason Gaius could think of that would lead Merlin to this was that Camelot would be in grave danger if the secret got out. How this secret could be any more dangerous than Merlin's magic, Gaius didn't know. What he did know was that his ward was in serious trouble.

* * *

A day or so later Merlin returned to his duties as Arthur's servant, to the king's great relief. If he'd had to sit through another of George's brass jokes, he'd probably have thrown the replacement servant through the window. Arthur did feel a bit guilty, however. He'd wanted to have a private talk with Merlin ever since the council, but for some reason he never got around to it. That's not to say he hadn't visited Merlin at all. He had, with Gwen or the knights. But he'd been too busy of late to just pop in on his manservant. On top of all the regular duties of a king, Arthur now had to investigate the attempted abduction of his friend. And it was not turning out to be an easy job, either.

None of the knights had any leads as to who the two men were, or why Merlin was the target. No one had seen them enter the city or leave, and besides the obvious destruction in the physician's quarters nothing was out of place. Leon had interrogated Merlin again on what had happened that night, in the hopes that something might stand out differently than before, but everything remained the same. Everyone was growing increasingly bewildered, and, in Gwaine's case, furious.

Arthur was growing upset as well, but it was more with anxiety than anything else. His best friend had almost been taken from under his nose, and they still had no idea who was behind it. But what worried him the most was that since they still hadn't found the culprits…they could try to take Merlin again.

He'd arranged for a knight to constantly be at Merlin's side throughout the day, unless he was with Arthur himself. The king figured he could defend Merlin just fine on his own, considering the number of times he'd had to save his sorry hide during attacks. Arthur expected Merlin to be annoyed by this and complain about not needing the knights to babysit him, but strangely it didn't seem to bother him. In fact, not much seemed to bother Merlin anymore, and it was worrisome.

Arthur watched his manservant with narrowed eyes as he cleaned the king's chambers. He was supposed to be writing a speech to greet an embassy from a neighboring kingdom in a few days, but he was too distracted by Merlin to get anything done. Arthur was used to Merlin constantly chattering and prattling on about this and that and generally driving the king mad. He was _not_ used to Merlin being incredibly efficient and going about his duties without even a word.

"Is there something on your mind, Merlin?" Arthur finally asked, unable to sit in the silence much longer. Merlin didn't even look up.

"No, sire," he replied, gathering up Arthur's dirty laundry.

"Are you sure? You're being awfully quiet," the king remarked, frowning.

"Just doing my duty, sire," Merlin said simply. He picked up the laundry and began to head towards the door. "Now if you'll excuse me sire, I need to go get these washed-"

"No." Arthur stood up at his desk. Merlin stopped, looking startled.

"Sire?"

"Would you stop with the sires already? I got enough of that from George, I don't need it from you as well," Arthur burst.

Merlin looked uncomfortable, which in itself was something wrong. Merlin was never uncomfortable when talking to Arthur, not even when he was on the other side of a Pendragon death glare. Arthur waited for Merlin's usual rebuttal, but was greeted with only a confused look and lowered eyes.

"We need to talk, Merlin. Something's bothering you." Arthur paused again for a response, but got none. "You haven't even asked me what I'm writing about. You're always asking me things like that, being the nosy clotpole that you are."

Arthur hoped that the name-calling would start off their usual banter, and then everything would be fine like it usually was. Instead, Merlin looked ashamed.

"I'm sorry my lord. Would you like me to ask what you are writing about?" Merlin said meekly, putting the laundry down on the bed. Arthur blinked.

"Uh, yes. I would," he prompted. Merlin nodded.

"So… er… What are you writing about, my lord?" He said stiffly. Arthur's frown deepened, but he decided to act like nothing was wrong. Maybe once they got started Merlin would click back into normal.

"In two days' time, an embassy from King Odin will arrive in Camelot. I am trying to further the process of arranging a peaceful truce between us and our kingdoms, so it is incredibly important that this embassy arrives in Camelot safely. So important, in fact, that I am sending my best knights out to meet them and lead them through our secret eastern route to avoid danger as they travel. I am writing the welcome speech I will give to them when they arrive at the castle, so you can understand the great importance of what I am currently undertaking. It will give them their first impression of Camelot, and hopefully influence them on coming to a peaceful accord."

Arthur looked up at Merlin expectantly. Merlin shuffled his feet.

"Sounds very important my lord," was all Merlin said. Arthur felt a little bubble of hope pop in his chest.

"No, you idiot, that's not what you do next," Arthur exclaimed, his worry catching up to him and bursting out of his mouth. "Now's the time where you tell me I'm a dollop-head or a cabbage-head or some other ridiculous name you come up with and that I'm writing this whole speech wrong. Then we argue a bit about who's more idiotic and then somehow you spout a bunch of wise rubbish at me about how I'll be the greatest king to ever rule Albion and you'll call me the Once and Future King or some nonsense and then-"

Arthur stopped when he saw the look on Merlin's face. He had turned completely white and his eyes were wide and unbelieving.

"What is it?" the king asked. "Too many words for your brain to handle at once?"

"Is there… is there anything else you need, my lord?" Merlin said shakily, staring at Arthur in an odd combination of awe and horror.

"Merlin, there is definitely something bothering you. You're not yourself," Arthur said carefully, a bit frightened by his servant's odd behavior.

"Is there anything else you need, my lord?" Merlin asked again. Arthur took a step towards Merlin.

"Merlin, if anyone needs anything right now, it's you. Please, what's wrong? You haven't been yourself since the attack. Did the sorcerer do anything else to you?" Arthur searched Merlin's face, hoping to see any hint of his friend still in there. Merlin shook his head.

"Th…thank you for your concern, but I already told you everything that happened to me. I don't need anything, I'm fine. If you have no further need for me, I need to get that laundry washed."

Arthur stared at Merlin for a moment. Then he stepped back.

"Very well. You may go." Merlin gathered the laundry back up into his arms and started towards the door.

"Merlin." Arthur stopped him. The servant looked at his king expectantly, and maybe even a bit nervously. "Don't forget what I told you in the tunnels at Ealdor. You are my friend, Merlin. I don't want to lose you."

Arthur wasn't sure what had spouted the sudden sentimentality. He was never that sappy, especially not with Merlin. He felt somewhat embarrassed, but he tried not to show it. Whether he had wanted those words to come out of his mouth or not, he really meant them. And Arthur had the strange feeling that despite Merlin not being taken, he was losing his friend just the same.

Merlin looked away. He hurried out of the king's chambers, leaving a confused and disturbed Arthur behind.

No one passing him in the hall noticed as he quickly wiped a tear from off his cheek.

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**Review! They make me write faster! ;)**


	4. The Sorcerer

**...Can I even express how much I love you guys? I decided I loved you enough that I worked on chapter six all day today so I could post chapter four for you all TODAY! (I like to be two chapters ahead of what I post). So enjoy your reward! I'm really excited to see what you all have to say after you read this chapter... teehee... **

**And for all reviewers who are posting thier speculations about what's going on... Some of you are kinda right-ish. Some of you are very wrong-ish. But I'm not going to say who! ;) I'm evil, I know...**

**Enjoy the chapter! We get Gwaine POV the whole time! :D**

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Chapter 4: The Sorcerer

Gwaine was in a bad mood.

Maybe it was partially influenced by the fact that he was suffering from a particularly bad hangover, but the knight preferred to think that it was because he was on this stupid patrol when he could be searching for the villains who tried to kidnap Merlin. True, it was a very important patrol, at least that's what Arthur had told him, but he still couldn't help but feel like he'd been demoted.

Honestly though, he knew he shouldn't feel bitter. Arthur had asked his four most trusted knights to ride out to meet Odin's embassy and lead them safely to Camelot through the secret eastern route. Gwaine knew it was a task of supreme importance, since relations between Arthur and Odin had always been… _difficult_ at best. And it wasn't like the king had forced only him to go on this jaunt. No, he had good 'ol Leon, Elyan, and Percival along for the ride.

He still felt like he had to babysit a bunch of fat old councilors though. Because really, that's what he was going to do.

"Doing alright there Gwaine?" Elyan called, a small smirk playing at his lips.

"This is ridiculous," Gwaine said, not for the first time. "Why couldn't Odin provide his own men? Why do we need to be the babysitters?"

"Oh, stop complaining Gwaine," Leon responded, grinning. "We'll be back in Camelot before you know it."

"We haven't even met up with Odin's embassy yet," Gwaine pointed out.

"Arthur said we'd meet them directly outside the forest," Percival said. "The trees are beginning to thin a bit, it shouldn't be much longer."

Gwaine grumbled a bit under his breath. He just wanted to turn his horse around and head back to Camelot right then and there. He was nervous about Merlin. His friend was still acting very strange and distant, and no one could make out what was wrong with him. It had been nearly a week since the attack, and still no change. It may have been arrogant of him, but Gwaine couldn't help but think that if he spent more time with Merlin, he might be able to get some of his old personality back. Every moment Gwaine spent far away from Camelot made him afraid that Merlin would slip away even more.

And man, that hangover was just pounding nails into his skull.

"Let's just get this over with," Gwaine muttered angrily. The other knights exchanged knowing glances, but didn't say anything. They were worried for Merlin too, but of the four of them Gwaine was the closest to the servant. They knew his strange behavior would affect him the most.

They rode in silence until they reached the edge of the forest, each man lost in his own thoughts. It was nearly dark out by the time they got there, the sun just setting on the horizon.

"So much for it not being much longer," Gwaine grumbled. It had been hours since he'd complained.

Just outside the trees Gwaine could barely make out a gathering of tents and horses. He began to head in that direction.

"Gwaine, stop," Leon said suddenly. Startled, the knight did. He turned to face Leon, confusion written all over his face.

"Listen," the older knight commanded. The others froze and tried to make out what Leon had heard, but there was nothing.

"I don't hear anything," Percival said quietly. Leon nodded.

"Exactly. Wouldn't a group of people like that make noise, even if it was just a little?"

Gwaine had to admit it was odd. Even when they weren't talking, people traveling with horses made noise.

"Do you think that's a problem?" Elyan asked. Leon's eyebrows creased.

"I'm not sure. Let's keep going, but be attentive."

The knights began forward again, but this time Gwaine kept a hand resting on the hilt of his sword. An uneasy feeling had begun to creep into his stomach, which was not helping his headache at all. Now that he was paying attention, Gwaine also realized that the entire forest had gone silent. There were no night birds singing, no squirrels chattering, and not even any leaves rustling.

At first Gwaine thought maybe he was losing his hearing as an effect of his hangover, but one glance at the others showed that they had noticed the same thing too. It was very unnerving.

Leon swung himself off his horse and the others did the same, leading their horses the rest of the way to the councilors.

"Hail, embassy of Odin!" Leon called. "We are knights of Camelot, especially selected by King Arthur himself to escort your way safely to our kingdom."

How quaint, Gwaine thought. Leon always did have a way with words. If he had been the one to call out, it probably would have been something more like, "Hey, you creepily silent ones! Get on your horses, we need to head back to Camelot _now!_"

There was no response. Confused, the knights continued forward.

"Embassy of Odin! Can you hear us?" Leon tried again.

"Are you even alive?" Gwaine added. Leon flashed a glare in Gwaine's direction as Elyan and Percival snorted with laughter.

They started into the camp, still looking around for any signs of people. Nothing.

"Maybe they're in the tents?" Percival suggested, motioning towards several small fabric structures set up to one side.

"Maybe…" Leon said. He looked completely bewildered.

"I'll go check them out," Gwaine said, tired of just standing around looking confused. He ignored Leon's cry not to as he strode to the nearest tent and pulled the fabric door aside.

Gwaine's stomach dropped. He suddenly felt like vomiting when he recalled his sarcastic comment just a few minutes earlier.

He had found one of the councilors, alright. He was lying on his back, his eyes wide open and staring, unblinking. Very much dead.

Gwaine scrambled away from the tent, eyes wide and panting. As a knight he'd seen his fair share of dead bodies, but he'd never been taken by surprise like that before. He heard Elyan cry out from the other tent, sounding just as disturbed. Oh, he thought. I guess that means the entire embassy is dead.

"Wha…what happened to them?" Elyan said shakily. Leon and Percival were staring into the tents in horror, neither able to speak.

"This is bad. This is really, really bad…" Elyan continued, pacing.

"What should we do?" Percival asked Leon. Leon swallowed hard, his eyes wide.

"We need to inform the king. We should ride back immediately-"

"And what, just leave the bodies here?" Gwaine said.

"Arthur needs to know about this as soon as possible," Leon said firmly. "If Odin were to discover this before Arthur does-"

"He might think Camelot was behind it, and all of the months of negotiations would go to waste," Elyan finished for him.

"But who _is_ behind this?" Percival put in. "These men were not killed by sword or arrow. There's not a drop of blood on them. It's like they just curled up and died."

Leon's jaw clenched and his gaze hardened. "Then there can be only two possibilities. Poison, or sorcery."

Percival, Elyan, and Gwaine exchanged looks. They all knew which one Leon suspected more.

Suddenly a twig cracked behind the knights, followed by some rustling. Gwaine felt a tingling on the back of his neck. They were not alone in the clearing.

All four of them whipped around, swords at the ready. Standing near the edge of the forest was a young man, no older than twenty at the most. He had on a dark cloak with the hood down, revealing dark brown hair and piercing green eyes.

"Who are you?" Gwaine said, frowning at the man. He didn't seem like much of a threat, but considering the circumstances Gwaine knew they couldn't be too careful. "Were you part of Odin's embassy?"

The man's face was grave. Gwaine thought he could see tears being held back in his eyes.

"No," he said simply. The man was shaking slightly.

The knights exchanged confused glances. "Did you see what happened to them?" Leon asked quickly.

The young man took a small step forwards, then froze. His mouth opened, but no words came out. He seemed to be struggling hard with something.

"Yes, I…I did see what happened…" he stammered. He shook his head, a single tear escaping down his cheek. He kept clenching and unclenching his hands nervously.

"It's alright, you're safe now," Percival said in a low, reassuring voice. The big knight stepped towards the young man, sheathing his sword. "Can you tell us what happened to these men? Who killed them?"

The man was shaking nearly uncontrollably now. He nodded slowly.

"Please," Percival said softly. Gwaine had to hand it to the big guy, he knew how to handle people when they were freaking out. "We need to know so we can find him."

The young man took a deep breath. He stared down at the ground, spasms shaking his body. He remained silent for a long moment before finally looking back up, his cheeks wet. His green eyes were soft and vulnerable, but full of strange emotions- terror and regret. Then he opened his mouth and answered Percival's question.

"I killed them."

Gwaine barely had time to register his shock before the young man raised his hand and his eyes burned gold with magic. Of _course_ he had to be a sorcerer. He blew Percival off his feet and into the air, sending the knight's head colliding with a tree. He landed on the forest floor in a heap.

Leon recovered from the shock first and charged toward the sorcerer. Gwaine followed the older knight while Elyan hurried over to Percival's side. Leon swung his sword at the sorcerer in what would have been a fatal blow had the man not stopped the weapon mid-swing and sent it flying in the opposite direction. Leon's eyes widened as his own sword slashed backwards toward Gwaine, who barely managed to duck beneath it.

The sorcerer remained focused on Leon as the knight's sword now yanked itself out of his hand and shot towards him. Trying to take advantage of the distraction, Gwaine moved in close to the sorcerer and was about to hit him on the head with his hilt when a sudden wave of energy blasted Gwaine backwards. He landed with a thud on the ground a dozen feet away and lay there panting, his breath taken away. The sorcerer was more attentive than Gwaine had thought. Or maybe just hoped.

Elyan had gotten Percival up on his feet and was now trying to aid Leon against his own sword. Percival was dazed from the blast, but he looked mostly unharmed. Elyan parried Leon's sword as it shot towards him, but he was unable to do anything as the sorcerer enchanted roots to grow up out of the ground and anchor him to the floor. Elyan slashed furiously at the plants gripping his legs, but he wasn't fast enough. Leon's sword shot towards the knight, aimed right for his heart.

Gwaine scrambled to his feet, desperate to help his friend. Leon ran with his arm outstretched, trying to catch his sword by the hilt before it delivered the fatal blow. Percival staggered towards his friend, sword outstretched to parry. They were all too late. Gwaine watched in horror as the sword reached Elyan… and glanced to the side, slicing through his shoulder.

Elyan yelled in pain and dropped his sword, blood already dripping from the wound. Leon's sword didn't let him do much else. It yanked itself out of the wound and levitated above his head, then came crashing down hilt first. The roots around his legs crumbled apart and Elyan dropped to the ground, unconscious and bleeding.

Despite the injured state of their friend, the other three knights let out a collective sigh of relief. Elyan was not dead. They didn't have much time to think on it though, because unfortunately for them, neither was the sorcerer.

The young man now used his magic to lift both Leon's and Elyan's swords into the air. He shot one towards Leon and the other at Percival. Gwaine glanced between his two friends, unsure which to help. He decided on Leon, since the man was unarmed. Gwaine sprinted towards Leon, ready to fight, when Percival cried out behind him. A quick look showed the big knight lying on the ground, his right leg pooling blood. Elyan's sword hilt made contact with his skull, and then he was unconscious.

Gwaine cursed. He reached Leon and raised his sword to defend him, but it was too late. The sword slashed across Leon's shoulder and down his chest. Leon collapsed in pain, but was taken out of his misery quickly when the hilt crashed against his head, knocking him out like the others.

Gwaine turned to face the sorcerer, breathing heavily. His gut kept twisting into horrible knots. He expected the two rogue swords to lift up and charge him at once, but to his surprise they dropped harmlessly on the ground.

The sorcerer had tears streaming down his face. "Enough. That's enough," he muttered quietly.

"Who are you? What do you want?" Gwaine cried in desperation, gripping his sword tightly. It didn't do much to reassure him however. The sorcerer had made it pretty clear that swords were no match for him.

"They won't be any trouble now… that's what he wanted. That's what he wanted…" the sorcerer said quietly.

"Answer me!" Gwaine yelled, gipping his sword with white knuckles. The sorcerer looked up at Gwaine.

"But what about you…" he said, staring at the knight with something akin to sympathy. He glanced at the other three knights, unconscious and bleeding. "He said all the knights… But someone has to stay awake… Someone has to tell them… Or else they'll die…"

"Who are you?" Gwaine repeated, louder this time. The young sorcerer looked at Gwaine. Suddenly his eyes flashed gold. He flicked his hand and Gwaine felt a painful crack in his wrist. The knight cursed in pain and dropped his sword, cradling what he realized was a broken wrist.

"I am called Grayton," the young sorcerer said, and then he turned and ran into the forest, disappearing amid the darkness.

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**DUN-DUN-DUUUUHHH! **

**Review please! :)**


	5. Back to Normal

**I love you guys. Really, I do. I know I say that every time, but really, you guys are awesome. I'm at 65 reviews for four chapters. That's not even half of the number of chapters in this story. I had no idea I'd get this much positive reception. So yeah, you guys rock. **

**This is kind of a talkie chapter, but hopefully you still enjoy it. Sorry about all the mystery, I know it's kind of confusing, but that's sort of the point. I don't want people to know what's going on until it's all revealed... Hopefully you're all interested enough to keep reading until then! **

**Enjoy chapter five!**

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Chapter 5: Back to Normal

"Arthur, please, stop pacing," Gwen called to her husband gently. The king did not respond. He continued to walk back and forth, his arms crossed tightly across his chest. They were alone in the throne room, Gwaine, Gaius and Merlin having just left.

Gwen knew Arthur was feeling overwhelmed and disturbed. The kidnap attempt on Merlin had been bad enough, but after the news Gwaine had brought them the queen was afraid Arthur would go into shock. The playful knight had ridden furiously into Camelot in the dead of the night, exhausted, hurt, and frantic, screaming about dead councilors and severely injured knights and a sorcerer. Once his message had become clear enough to understand, Arthur had immediately dispatched a dozen knights and guards to find and bring home the other knights as quickly as possible, as well as the bodies of Odin's embassy.

Arthur had been crushed to learn of the attack on the embassy. He had sent a message to Odin to inform him of the attack as soon as he had learned of it, but he was afraid that it wouldn't be good enough. Odin would suspect Camelot was behind it, and all Arthur's work towards peace would be shattered.

Gwen was also worried about relations with Odin, but her primary concern at the moment was her brother and the other knights. According to Gwaine, they had all been seriously injured and knocked out by the sorcerer who had attacked them, a young man by the name of Grayton. Grayton had also broken Gwaine's wrist, making it very difficult for Gwaine to do anything for the other knights. He couldn't get them up on their horses using only one hand, so he had bound their wounds as well as he could and rode back to Camelot as fast as he was able.

Gaius and Merlin were preparing room for them back in the physician's quarters, which had been tidied up enough to serve in its original purpose. Gwaine had gone with them to get his wrist taken care of after reporting to his king what had occurred.

"Arthur, please," Guinevere pleaded again, this time rising from her seat and taking a step towards the king. Arthur stopped and breathed out heavily. He rubbed his face with his hand.

"What am I going to do, Guinevere?" he asked, his voice small. "If Odin doesn't believe that a sorcerer was behind this, he could declare war."

"He has to believe us," Gwen said, trying to sound reassuring. "Once he takes a look at the bodies he'll be able to see there weren't any marks on them."

"I don't think that will be enough," Arthur said simply. "Odin has been trying to find an excuse to declare war on Camelot for years. He won't just let this go."

Gwen walked to her husband and took him in her arms. He seemed to almost collapse into her, the weight and stress of the situation taking its toll.

"Everything will be alright," Gwen said soothingly. She wasn't sure if she even believed it though. Arthur pulled her tighter and gave her a short kiss.

"Thank you, Guinevere." He pulled away from her and walked back to the table. "I don't mean to sound hopeless. I'm just worried about my men."

Gwen nodded. "I know you are. I would expect nothing less from you." The king smiled at her, but it was short-lived. He turned to face the table and leaned forward on it, staring at the Pendragon symbol etched into the center.

"It's even more than that, isn't it?" the queen asked softly. "There's something else you haven't said."

Arthur didn't respond for a long moment. When he did, he remained facing the table, his blue eyes frozen over in thought.

"I just can't help but think that they're connected. Merlin's almost kidnapping and the attack on the embassy, I mean. We go an entire year without any attacks, and then suddenly there are two within the same week? And both include a sorcerer? It can't be a coincidence."

"I'd been thinking the same," Gwen said. "And what Gwaine said about the sorcerer seemed odd. How he was so young, and how sad he seemed about killing and hurting these men. Something doesn't match up."

Arthur nodded. "We're still missing a piece of the puzzle. I feel like it should be totally obvious, right in my reach, but I just don't see it!"

He pounded the table with his fist in frustration. Knowing what a frustrated Pendragon was like, Gwen quickly dashed forward and grabbed his hand before he could do any damage, to himself or the furniture.

"Have you talked to anyone else about it?" she questioned. Arthur shook his head.

"I would have talked to Merlin, but…" the king trailed off.

"But Merlin's not himself," the queen finished for him. Arthur didn't answer, but Gwen knew she was right. She'd been watching her best friend closely for the past week, and he was acting very distant and strange. At first she'd thought it was just shock from the attack, but when a week had passed and nothing changed, she'd begun to grow worried, just like all of Merlin's other friends. Arthur was right, they were missing a piece of the puzzle. And if Gwen was right, Merlin had that piece.

But for some reason he was refusing to give it up.

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"Gaius, you know who Grayton is, don't you?" Gwaine said suddenly. Gaius froze in the middle of binding the knight's broken wrist.

They were alone in in Gaius's chambers, Gwaine sitting up on a bench while Gaius stood beside him, working on setting the wrist so that it could heal properly. Gaius had barely sent Merlin out to fetch water when Gwaine had blurted out the statement with all the grace of a wild boar.

"I… I am not sure…" the physician stammered. Gwaine sighed.

"Come on Gaius, I saw your expression when I said the name of the sorcerer. You know something about him."

Gaius found he couldn't argue with that. It was true, when Gwaine had ended his story by saying the sorcerer who had attacked them was named Grayton, Gaius nearly jumped out of surprise. Merlin had looked a bit shocked too, glancing at Gwaine with surprise laced in his eyes, but he was much better at hiding it than Gaius. The physician wasn't sure if he should be grateful the knight hadn't picked up that Merlin recognized the name as well, or not.

"Merlin knows something about him too, doesn't he?" Gwaine added lightly. Gaius froze again and nearly rolled his eyes at the irony. Of _course_ Gwaine hadn't missed Merlin's reaction.

"I don't know who he is, if that's what you're asking," Gaius said tensely. He finished binding Gwaine's wrist and lowered it to rest on the knight's leg. "Now if that begins to cause you any pain, I can give you a draught that will-"

"Don't hold out on me Gaius," Gwaine interrupted, dead serious. "I want to know what you know. Obviously the name means something to Merlin. Maybe it's a clue to what really happened to him the night of the attack."

Gaius wasn't sure what to do. He'd never given up any of Merlin's secrets, at least not willingly. He wasn't too sure how safe this secret would be with Gwaine, considering the number of nights he spent at the tavern. Then again, Merlin had not told Gaius this was necessarily a secret. It would probably be helpful to have someone else looking into the name, considering Gaius still had no leads and Merlin was being of no assistance. Especially since Gwaine had actually met the man.

"I'm only asking because I'm worried about Merlin," Gwaine said, lowering his voice despite them being alone. "Everybody is. If this Grayton guy is a clue to how to help Merlin, then I'm all for it."

Gaius sighed, and then nodded. He tried not to roll his eyes at the delighted look on Gwaine's face.

"All I know is that Grayton had something to do with Merlin's attempted kidnapping," Gaius started. "I could tell Merlin wasn't saying everything about what happened to him that night, so I asked him about it. He didn't want to say anything, and it was only after a bit of persuasion that I managed to get that name out of him. I still don't know who he is, besides what you have just reported, but now we know a few things about him."

"He's a sorcerer," Gwaine said.

"Yes. And I think he must have some connection to Odin's court." Gwaine frowned.

"What makes you think that? He killed all of Odin's men."

"Only our men and a few select men in Odin's court know of the eastern route. In order for Grayton to find them, he had to know where they'd be. That means one of two things- either he's a spy in Odin's court-"

"Or he's a spy in ours," Gwaine finished for him. "And he can't be a spy in our court. The other knights and I would have recognized him."

Gaius nodded. "Of course, he could be using magic to spy, so he doesn't have to physically be here. Or he could just have a connection to a spy, and he is not the spy himself. It is still possible the spy is in Camelot. But I don't think it is."

"Why not?"

"He didn't kill Camelot's men, but he did kill Odin's. If he is a spy, then he is a traitor, and therefore an enemy to the party he is spying on. He wouldn't kill the people he is not against, not if he was as upset about it as you seem to think."

Gwaine nodded, but he still wasn't convinced. "Yes, that is possible. And he did seem very grieved about it all, which really confused me. I mean, why do these horrible things if you hate doing them? It doesn't make sense. And why attack the embassy in the first place? What was to be gained by doing that?"

"I doubt that Grayton is the one on top in this operation," Gaius said, thinking. "He seems too young, too inexperienced."

"Well, he was plenty experienced in enchanting swords, let me tell you that," Gwaine grumbled.

"You know what I mean. Did he say anything about someone above him? Any mention of a leader, or master, or something of that sort?" Gaius asked, his eyebrows raised expectantly. Gwaine's forehead creased in thought.

"Uh, yeah. He talked about a 'he', like he was obeying someone's orders. Orders to keep us from being trouble, or something like that."

Gaius nodded. "Just as I thought. I wonder-"

Whatever Gaius was wondering was put on halt when Merlin came staggering back into the room, holding a bucket of water in his hands. He looked over at Gwaine and Gaius with wide, unsuspecting eyes and gave them a sheepish grin.

"Sorry. Am I interrupting?" he asked, setting the bucket down on the table beside Gwaine. Gwaine put on a huge smile, trying to hide the immediate concern he felt whenever he saw his friend these days.

"No, you're fine, Merlin. Gaius was just telling me how to take care of this wrist of mine," the knight said, standing up and looking at his broken joint. "You'd think, with all the bar fights I've been in, that I would have broken one of these before now, but noooo."

Merlin gave a little laugh that for the first time since the attack didn't sound faked. He punched Gwaine lightly on the shoulder. "Well, I'm glad you're experiencing it now," he said playfully. "Wouldn't want you to feel like you've been missing out."

Gwaine blinked. Was Merlin joking around with him? A genuine smile began to creep on his face.

"Ah, and it is quite delightful, let me tell you that. Gaius has me resting this arm for the next two weeks, and it's my sword arm. No intense Arthur training for me! I'm off to the tavern! Wanna join me?"

Merlin rolled his eyes and grinned, but shook his head. "Thanks, but no. I have to help Gaius with the other knights once they get here."

Gwaine's face fell. Between his confusion about Grayton and his joy at seeing Merlin acting like himself again, he'd forgotten about Leon, Percival, and Elyan. "Oh, right, of course. It probably wouldn't be a good idea to visit the tavern tonight after all, what with my new injured status and all."

Gwaine pulled Merlin into a quick hug before running out the door. "Well, I'm off to get some sleep. I'm exhausted. Good to have you back, mate," he called as he bounded out of the physician's chambers. Three of his closest friends may be mortally injured, Camelot may be on the brink of war, but Merlin was back. Gwaine couldn't feel more relieved.

Gaius was watching Merlin with something like delight as well. Once Gwaine had disappeared, the physician turned to his ward, grabbing Merlin's arm.

"How do you feel, Merlin?" Gaius asked, searching the young warlock's face for any sign of the strange, sullen creature he'd been the past week. Merlin flashed him a grin.

"I feel great. Why?"

Gaius nodded, a smile growing over his face. "Nothing. Just…I'm glad you are acting like yourself again. Did anything change? Did hearing about Grayton do something?"

Merlin's face drooped a little at the mention of the sorcerer. He chewed the inside of his cheek.

"No, nothing like that. I guess I just… finally snapped out of it. I was feeling strange before, a little out of it, and I was scared Gaius. Really scared. But I'm fine now." Merlin's eyes darkened. "At least, as fine as I can be, given the circumstances. I hope Percival, Leon, and Elyan are alright."

"Can you tell me any more about Grayton? Or anything else about the attack?" Gaius asked eagerly.

Merlin stepped away from his mentor. "No, Gaius. I'm sorry. I can't. I wish I could but I literally… physically… can't."

Merlin's blue eyes were wide and pleading, as if silently calling for help.

Gaius frowned, but he nodded. "Alright then. I suppose we'll have to get this all figured out the hard way then. Like we always do." He pulled Merlin into a tight hug, which the warlock returned just as tightly.

Suddenly the door burst open to a few guards, announcing that the injured knights had arrived. Gaius hurried forward to direct the men where to put them, leaving Merlin standing alone. For a split second, the happy, satisfied expression on his face morphed into one of extreme guilt, but it was erased just as quickly as the young man hurried forward to help the men get Leon into one of Gaius's cots.

* * *

**Yay! Merlin's back to normal! Or is he...? **

**Review please! **


	6. Cryptic Servants, Confused Kings

**Alright... I have a challenge for you guys! Ready for it? :)**

**I've been getting tons of reviews expressing people's anxiety over not knowing what happened to Merlin. I thought I could remedy that somewhat with this. ****As of right now, I am at 76 reviews. If you are my 100th reviewer, I will let you know in whatever update follows that review (I'm not expecting it to happen by the next update... but that would be pretty cool!). That lucky reviewer will be given permission to PM me with a question you have about this story, and I promise to answer it truthfully. If you don't want to take part in the challenge (yay spoiler-free people!) but review anyway, just say that in your review. **

**And sorry to any and all guest readers. I'm still new to the site, so I may be wrong, but I don't think there's a way for you to PM me without an account and I don't want to put any answers out where anyone could read them. So unless I'm wrong, you can't participate in the challenge. :( Sorry.**

**Good luck! Enjoy chapter six!**

* * *

Chapter 6: Cryptic Servants, Confused Kings, and Scholarly Knights

Leon, Percival, and Elyan were not doing well.

By the time they got taken back to Camelot, all three were running high fevers and shaking uncontrollably. Thankfully, only Leon's injury had become infected, as it had been the most difficult for a one-handed Gwaine to bind. Gaius had his hands full between the three of them.

Arthur felt like a useless lump of meat as he sat in Gaius's chambers, watching the old physician and Merlin tend to his knights. He knew there was nothing he could do for them now that they were with Gaius, but he still felt like he was letting them down somehow. These were his best knights, some of his closest friends. Arthur was a man of action, and all this sitting and waiting was driving him insane.

The king's mind wandered as he watched Gaius swab some white paste on Elyan's shoulder. It had been days since he'd sent the message to Odin, and he still hadn't heard back from him. That could only mean bad news. Odin would have informed Arthur immediately if he had wanted to continue forward peacefully. But Arthur couldn't prepare for battle without any concrete evidence that the rival kingdom was planning an attack. If Odin did, in fact, want to settle this peacefully and the message was just taking its sorry time, it would be a huge mistake to begin building up the army. Then Odin might see it as an aggressive move on Arthur's part and declare war anyway.

Arthur sighed heavily and rubbed his face with his hand. He had no idea what he should do. He couldn't afford to prepare for battle, but he also couldn't afford for his kingdom to be taken over. Whatever he chose to do could turn out to be a mistake, and a deadly one at that.

"It'll be alright, Arthur," came a voice beside him. Arthur turned to face Merlin, who was sitting on the bench beside the king. Arthur had been so lost in thought he hadn't noticed him sit down.

Arthur couldn't help but smile a little bit. As badly as these past few days had been going, there was one thing that made his burden feel a bit lighter- Merlin was back to normal. He'd even called Arthur a clotpole that morning, which had cheered the king up way more than it should have.

"I don't know what to do," Arthur said simply. "All of this is so confusing. Who was that sorcerer who attacked my men? What did he want? How did he know where to find Odin's embassy?"

Merlin shuffled his feet. "I… I don't have any idea, Arthur." The king didn't miss the look Gaius flashed at his ward at the statement. Arthur frowned, his eyes bouncing between the two of them.

"Merlin, I can't help but think that this attack is somehow linked to the men who tried to take you," Arthur said evenly, watching his servant's face carefully. Merlin's eyes suddenly became guarded and he stiffened a bit.

"Maybe. I don't know," Merlin replied. He wouldn't meet Arthur's eyes.

Arthur's forehead creased as he frowned. He _knew_ Merlin was hiding something. He may be acting normal again, but there was still something about him that was out of place.

Standing, Arthur made a sudden executive decision. Merlin was going to tell him everything, or so help him he would force him to train with George again.

"Come with me Merlin," Arthur said, striding towards the door. Merlin opened his mouth in protest, gesturing at the knights, but Arthur cut him off. "I'm sure Gaius will be alright on his own for a few minutes. Now come with me."

Merlin glanced at Gaius, who raised his eyebrows and nodded. "I'll be fine. Go with the king, Merlin."

Reluctantly, the servant rose from the bench and followed Arthur out of the physician's chambers and down the hall. Arthur moved briskly, his face set with purpose. He was tired of being in the dark. He was going to find out answers _now._

The king didn't stop until they had reached the nearest empty guest chamber. Then he swung the door open and marched inside, glancing behind him to make sure Merlin was still following. Once they were both inside, Arthur closed the door and turned to face his servant, arms crossed.

"Alright. I know there's something you're not telling us, and I want to know what it is. Now," he commanded. Merlin looked exasperated.

"Arthur, don't be such a dollop-head. I've told you what happened." he said. "Do you need me to repeat it again? I know your skills of retention are questionable, what with all the knocks on the head you've had…" he added condescendingly, a sly smile on his face.

Arthur wasn't in the mood for banter. "I mean it, Merlin. Tell me what really happened."

Merlin shook his head. "I already _told_ you-"

"You are hiding something from me, Merlin, and I'm tired of it. I know something's not right, you've been acting very strangely, and if there is any sort of connection between what you know and what happened to the knights and Odin's men, I want to know. I need to know," Arthur snapped. "Neither of us is leaving this room until you tell me what you're hiding."

Merlin shook his head in disbelief. "What about Gaius and the knights? They need my help!"

"Then you'd better start talking," Arthur responded smugly. Merlin opened his mouth to protest, but then closed it again. He seemed to know when he was fighting a losing battle.

Merlin began to pace back and forth, clenching and unclenching his hands nervously. A few times he stopped to face Arthur, about to say something, but then he turned away again. Arthur watched his servant, unease growing in his stomach. Whatever Merlin was struggling with must have been some really serious news.

"Come on, Merlin," Arthur finally said, tired of watching him pace. "Just tell me."

Merlin shook his head. "I… _can't_," he said, his voice breaking a bit. Arthur took a step towards him.

"Yes, you can. And you will."

Merlin cried out in frustration. "Why can't you just take no for an answer?! Gaius was like this too! You all seem to think I'm holding back this information because I _want_ to. Like I'm choosing not to tell you. It's not like that at all. But even if it was a choice, I still wouldn't tell you. Believe me, anyone who cares at all about me will regret it very much if I tell you everything. I can't tell you, and nothing is going to change that!"

Arthur was a bit startled at Merlin's outburst. Okay, not a bit, a lot startled. Shocked, even. Merlin was known to argue with him, but never to yell like this. And something about what he'd said, about anyone who cared about him regretting it…

Arthur clenched his jaw. Someone had threatened Merlin. Maybe they were blackmailing him, although the king doubted Merlin had any secrets big enough to enable him to be blackmailed. But whatever had happened, the servant seemed to think that they would follow through with the threat. Merlin thought he was in danger.

"Merlin… you are safe here, you know that. I swear that nothing will harm you if you tell me what happened." Arthur tried to sound reassuring. It didn't seem to work.

Merlin shook his head. "Don't make promises you can't keep."

"How am I supposed to know I can't keep it if I don't even know what is wrong?!" Arthur shouted. He could feel his temper rising, but he wasn't actually mad. He was worried about Merlin and his injured knights, nervous about Odin, and stressed about the situation as a whole. And when any of these three emotions were felt by Arthur Pendragon, they translated into anger.

"Stop being all cryptic on me, Merlin! I want to help you! I want to protect my people, my kingdom, my _friends!_ Is that too much to ask?!" Now it was the king who was pacing, full of nervous energy. "I know you must have told Gaius something, his reaction to what Gwaine reported made that obvious enough. You can tell Gaius something, but you can't tell me anything? Come on Merlin! I'm the king! I can help you more than anyone in this kingdom can, you idiot! Just tell me!"

"You want to know what I told Gaius? Fine, I'll tell you that, you stubborn prat," Merlin spat. His eyes flashed with anger. "All I told him was a name: Grayton. Happy now?"

Arthur frowned at the name. "That's the name of the sorcerer who killed Odin's men and attacked the knights," he realized.

Merlin's eyes lost their fire as suddenly as if they were blown-out candles. He looked away from Arthur, his face falling. "Yeah. That's him."

"And he had to do with nearly kidnapping you?" Merlin just nodded. Arthur cursed.

"I knew the two were connected! This Grayton- he's a sorcerer. Was he the sorcerer who tried to take you?"

"Yes. He tried to kidnap me. But he failed. I'm still here," Merlin said, as if trying to comfort himself.

"And that's all you told Gaius? Grayton's name?" Merlin nodded again.

"I can't say any more, Arthur. I'm sorry."

The king frowned at Merlin. He wasn't satisfied. But as much as he wanted to stay here and continue to press Merlin for questions, he knew that Gaius needed his ward back to help with the knights. There was one more thing that was bothering him however, something he had to know now.

"Merlin… What you said earlier about not choosing to not tell us, it made me wonder if you weren't in control… Like someone else was keeping you from speaking…" he took a breath, unsure if he should actually speak his true concern. But whether he wanted to or not, a moment later it came bursting out of his lips.

"Have you been enchanted?" Arthur felt a little ridiculous asking, especially if he was wrong and Merlin called him a cabbage-head or some other idiotic insult for thinking of such a thing.

Merlin froze. He cocked his head at Arthur, a slightly amused expression growing on his face, like he was entertained by the question.

"Hm. Am I enchanted?" He seemed to play with the question in his mind for a moment. Then he gave Arthur an odd, cheeky grin. "No, I am not. Not exactly, anyway. But it's nice to have a question I can answer on my own, for once."

With that Merlin stepped past the bewildered king and headed down the hallway, leaving Arthur with more questions than he had before. Arthur sighed and shook his head. Merlin truly was a riddle.

* * *

Gwaine was in the library.

The knight made a mental note to remember this place. With its row upon row of books, scrolls, and other records, it would make a great hiding place if he ever needed to escape an angry bartender. Not to mention it was probably the last place anyone would think to look for him.

In fact, had it not been for Gaius the knight probably never would have stepped foot in the room at all. The old physician had asked Gwaine to look up the name Grayton in the royal records, hoping to find a connection between the name and Odin's court. Gwaine still wasn't convinced the spy was in Odin's court, but it did seem more likely than in Camelot.

Despite this, a small part of Gwaine had suspicions that maybe Grayton had no connections to any court, and was acting on his own. It might make a little bit more sense. Maybe he wanted Camelot and Odin to go to war, sending their kingdoms into chaos. Maybe he'd just really hated those councilors. Maybe he was crazy and had attacked them at random. Maybe they had all just gotten drunk together and it had been an accident. Maybe Gwaine was thinking about his way too hard.

Gwaine shook his head. No, Gaius was right. It made a lot more sense for the spy to be connected to Odin's court. Which was why he needed to research that court.

When the knight saw the stacks upon stacks of royal records, he groaned. This was going to take a long time. He wished he could have brought in some mead to help him get by. Or even better, take the records with him to the tavern.

Gwaine sat down at a table and pulled the first scroll down. "Grayton, my mysterious fellow, you'd better be in here somewhere," he said, opening the scroll and starting his research.

Hours passed. Gwaine didn't find a single mention of a Grayton anywhere, and his eyes were beginning to glaze over from all the words he had read. Nothing even remotely intriguing had been written about Odin's court, which surprised the knight. Usually courts are filled with juicy, gossipy stories. Royals always were too rich and had too much time on their hands. But apparently Odin's court was incredibly dull. Gwaine was grateful he'd ended up as a knight of Camelot. At least here there were interesting details like crazy evil sorceress Pendragon half-sisters to make things fun.

Gwaine was about to stop, thinking he'd take a break to the tavern and come back later, when he finally read something that sparked his interest. He had reached a certain Lord Dareth, who apparently was one of Odin's right hand men. The details about the man were boring, like the rest of Odin's court, but as he was glancing over his family tree he saw something that caused him to freeze.

Lord Dareth's great- great- grandfather used to own a lot of the land that Odin now reigns over. Apparently it was taken over when Odin's ancestor was conquering the land for his own kingdom. But that wasn't the interesting part. The interesting part was that Lord Dareth's great-great-grandfather's name was Grayton.

Gwaine stood up suddenly. He looked around to make sure no one was watching, then stuffed the scroll down his shirt. Gaius needed to see this. Maybe the old man would be able to make more sense out of it than Gwaine. The knight was positive, however, that he'd found something important.

The knight had no way of knowing that he wouldn't be able to even see Gaius that night, much less show him the scroll.

* * *

Only a few miles away, Lord Dareth of the court of Odin sat tall on his horse, surveying the tall spires of the city below him. His army spread behind him, the men silent and restless as they waited. But Dareth knew they had to wait. The time was nearly upon them, but not yet.

Then he saw it- the signal he'd been waiting for. Atop one of Camelot's towers, a small puff of white smoke shot up. A smirk grew on Dareth's lips. His man had followed through.

"Now is the time," he muttered to the man sitting on a horse silently beside him. The man nodded and turned back to relay the message to the army.

Tonight Dareth would finally take one of the last steps in his plan. Tonight, he would conquer Camelot.

* * *

Gaius woke up in the middle of the night to Merlin stumbling noisily back into his room.

"Merlin, what on earth are you doing?" he mumbled sleepily. His ward shrugged.

"Just went for a walk," he replied nonchalantly. Gaius frowned.

"In the middle of the night?"

Merlin just flashed him a grin and hurried past the physician to his bedroom.

A few hours later, the bells began to toll.

* * *

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	7. Captured

**Only three more reviews until we get a 100th reviewer! I am so excited! :D**

**Enjoy chapter seven! **

* * *

Chapter 7: Captured

This time, when the alarm bells went off, Arthur made no effort to stay in bed.

He'd barely been sleeping anyway, what with all the questions running through his mind. He practically launched himself out of bed the moment the first bell sounded and had already gotten himself dressed by the time a guard came running into the room to inform him of the trouble.

"Sire, there is an army inside the castle walls!" the guard cried, his eyes wide and frantic. Gwen gasped and Arthur froze in the middle of putting on one of his shoes.

"That's impossible!" the king cried. He finished pulling on his shoe and grabbed his sword from its place beside his bed. "The gates would have held them back at least long enough for us to know about it before they broke in!"

"They…they didn't have to break in, sire," the guard said nervously. "The gate had been opened for them already, from the inside."

Arthur felt his stomach clench. Someone on the _inside_, open Camelot's gates to allow in an army… He had _another_ traitor in the court? The young king wasn't sure he could handle any more betrayals. But now was not the time to analyze his feelings. He needed to get down there, get in armor, get his knights…

Arthur's thoughts trailed off when he realized that all four of his best knights were in no shape to fight. Percival, Leon, and Elyan hadn't even gained consciousness yet, and while Gwaine's spirit was still the same he couldn't possibly fight well with a broken wrist.

A sinking sensation swept over him. That sorcerer, Grayton, had injured his knights like this on purpose, Arthur was sure of it. He'd wanted to get rid of four of Camelot's best defenders. Arthur wondered morbidly why he hadn't just killed the men, but then he shook his head. He needed to focus. There would be plenty of time to think about this later.

"Arthur, what-" Gwen started.

"Guinevere, I want you to stay in this room. Do not leave unless I come to get you. Do you understand?"

Under different circumstances, Gwen would have protested, but from one look on her husband's face she knew this wasn't the time. She nodded meekly. Arthur walked to her and gave her a quick kiss.

"I love you. I'll be back," he said simply, then ran out of his chambers, the guard following behind him.

"Whose army is it?" Arthur asked as he ran, although he was pretty sure he already knew the answer.

"We believe it is King Odin's, sire," the guard responded, confirming Arthur's guess. "We can't be sure, but it appears that leading the army is Lord Dareth, of the court of Odin."

"Go, make sure all the knights are awake and fighting," the king commanded. The guard nodded turned off into another hallway that led to the knight's chambers.

Hurrying toward the armory, Arthur glanced out the window as he passed. Sorrow and rage consumed him as he saw the dark-cloaked army swarm through the lower town, nearly at the citadel. A small company of knights were fighting the enemy furiously, but they were vastly outnumbered. Camelot's greatest defense was its walls, and they had been breached without a single casualty.

Arthur sprinted down the corridor, yelling at any guards he passed to alert the other knights and have them join in the fight below. The castle was in chaos. No one seemed to know what to do or what was going on. Arthur wished he had some way to speak to everyone at once, a way to amplify his voice or send messages to people instantly, but that was impossible.

"Arthur!" Merlin was suddenly beside him. "Arthur, we need to-"

"Not now Merlin," Arthur said, brushing him off. Knowing Merlin, he was probably going to tell him he needed to get out of Camelot now, that the city was already taken and as the king he needed to retreat to be able to fight another day. That all may be true, but Arthur did not want to hear it. He would not be abandoning his kingdom, his people, ever again.

"Arthur, listen to me! We need to get all the knights into the citadel. Odin's men are nearly there anyway, there's no way we can save the lower town now. We can fight them off at the citadel entrance, it's a lot narrower there so only some of them can come through at a time," Merlin cried, jogging alongside the king.

Arthur frowned at his servant. "You're not going to try to get me to leave? I thought you thought it was your destiny to protect me or some other rubbish."

Merlin swallowed hard. His shoulders slouched as if an incredibly heavy burden had just been placed on them. His eyes grew wide with something like guilt, pleading for forgiveness. But then he shook his head and the expression disappeared. "We need to save the city," he insisted. "That's our first priority."

Arthur nodded, a little nonplussed at Merlin's reaction. He didn't think on it too hard though, and a few moments later they were in the armory.

"Quickly Merlin, help me," Arthur commanded, sliding on his chainmail. Merlin frowned down at the armor.

"I… I, um…"

"Come on, Merlin, I need to get out there! Stop dawdling!" Arthur pulled his breastplate on and began to tighten the straps. Merlin picked up a few pieces of the armor and looked bewildered.

"Arthur, I don't…"

"How many times have you helped me put my armor on, and for some reason _now_ you have a problem with it? Hurry!" The king didn't understand what Merlin's issue was. Getting Arthur in armor had been one of the first things he'd learned how to do as his manservant. He'd been doing it for years.

Crashes and yells could be heard just outside, in the citadel. Arthur cursed. They'd made it in.

"Forget it," he cried, snatching his sword up again. "I'm going out now!"

Merlin didn't even protest as Arthur pushed past him and out the door, into the fray of battle.

* * *

Gwen couldn't sit still. She knew she' promised Arthur she'd stay put, and she'd been good for a while, but now that the screams and cries from the battle were coming from directly out her window, she'd had enough. She was the queen of Camelot now. She had an obligation to help her people. Besides, it wasn't like Gwen didn't know how to defend herself. She was a blacksmith's daughter, after all. She'd been around weapons and armor for as long as she could remember.

The queen quickly changed into a pair of pants she kept hidden in her closet for times such as this and pulled on a long-sleeved blouse. It was much easier to run and fight dressed like this, and that was exactly what she intended to do.

Gwen reached under the bed and pulled out one of Arthur's old swords. He hadn't touched any of his other weapons since he'd pulled Excalibur out of the stone, but they were still in good shape. The queen swung the sword a few times to get a feel for it, and then faced the door.

"I'm sorry Arthur," she muttered. Then she hurried out of her chamber and into the corridor.

* * *

Almost immediately after Gwaine stepped foot out of the library, the alarms began to toll.

At first Gwaine thought it was because they had caught him sneaking the scroll out under his shirt. Dang, that was some tight security!

Then he realized that no one was anywhere near him. No one could have seen him take the scroll. So Gwaine decided that instead it meant Camelot was under attack. Again.

The knight glanced down at his wrist, wincing. He wouldn't be much good in a fight right now. He could try to use his other hand, but he wouldn't last for long with such a disadvantage. And there was the fact that Gwaine really needed to get this scroll to Gaius.

But he was a knight of Camelot. He'd sworn to protect the city with his life, and dang it, that's what he was going to do. He'd have to get the scroll to Gaius later, after this was all settled. Hopefully it wouldn't get too thrashed in the fight.

When he got to the armory, he found Merlin standing there alone, holding pieces of Arthur's armor and looking lost.

"Hey mate, where's Arthur?" Gwaine asked, grabbing his own armor and quickly working his way into it.

"He… he's out there. In the fight," Merlin responded, looking shaky. Gwaine cursed.

"I need to get out there. Merlin, help me-"

"No!" Merlin suddenly cried, dropping the armor in his hands with a clang. He stared at Gwaine with a strange sort of hope in his eyes. "No, Gwaine, you need to get out of Camelot!"

Gwaine stared at his friend. "Uh, sorry, I can't really do that. See, we're under attack, and I'm a _knight-_"

"No, you don't understand! Someone needs to escape! I can't protect the king, or even the queen, he wants them too badly. But he has no idea about you! You need to get out before it's too late! Now!"

Merlin hurried toward Gwaine and pushed him at the door frantically. Gwaine side-stepped out of the doorway and stared in bewilderment at his friend.

"Merlin, it's my duty to protect Camelot," he insisted.

"The city is already practically taken. If you want to protect it, you need to get out before they catch you!" Merlin cried, grabbing his hair in frustration. "Please, Gwaine! I'm trying to help you!"

Gwaine shook his head. "Merlin, mate, I don't know what kind of strange logic has you thinking all this, but-"

The screams and cries of battle outside grew in intensity. Gwaine thought he could vaguely hear Arthur screaming at his men to regroup, to protect the castle entrance. That meant Odin's men had nearly conquered the citadel. Man, they were moving fast!

"Gwaine, please," Merlin said softly. "Get out."

Gwaine didn't listen. He pushed his way past Merlin and bolted out into the citadel, clutching his sword in his wrong hand. He saw Arthur fighting back Odin's men on the stairs just outside the castle doors. The enemy was filling the citadel, taking down Camelot's men left and right. Gwaine hesitated. Every fiber of his being wanted to jump out there and take down as many of Odin's men as he could, but something in him held him back. He thought about what Merlin had said.

It was pretty clear that Camelot was not going to be victorious today, and with Arthur in the middle of the fighting there would be no way to get the king to safety. Change of plans. He needed to retreat, get out of Camelot, wait until there was the perfect moment to strike back. But that didn't mean he was going to go alone.

Gwaine doubled back into the armory.

"Merlin!" he called. "Come on, we've got to-"

Merlin was not there. Maybe he'd decided to take his own advice and get out while he still could.

"Merlin!" Gwaine cried again, looking around to make sure he hadn't missed his friend somewhere in the armory. Nothing.

Gwaine shook it off and sprinted back into the castle. Hopefully he'd run across Merlin before he got out of Camelot. In the meantime, he had a queen to find. Arthur would be devastated if anything were to happen to Gwen. He needed to find her and get her out, maybe take Gaius too.

Gwaine didn't stop running all the way to the king's chambers. Knowing Arthur, he'd have commanded his wife to stay there until someone came for her. Well, tonight, that someone was Gwaine.

"Gwen!" the knight cried, throwing open the door. "Camelot is taken! We need to get you-"

Gwen wasn't there. Gwaine cursed. What was it with people disappearing on him all of a sudden? He turned and bolted out of the room, calling for the queen as he ran. Where on earth had she gone?

* * *

Gwen was almost to the citadel when she felt a hand on her shoulder. Yelping in surprise, she whipped around, swinging her sword. The man standing behind her gasped and jumped aside, just missing the queen's sword.

"Careful, Gwen! It's just me!" Gwen's shoulders sagged with relief. It was Merlin.

"Merlin, what's going on?" she whispered. "I don't hear fighting anymore."

Merlin shook his head, looking grave. Instead of answering her question he grabbed her arm. "We need to get you out of here Gwen, come on," he said, pulling her down the corridor.

"What happened? Did Odin win? Where's Arthur?" she cried, trying to keep up with the rapid pace Merlin was setting. Merlin didn't respond, just kept pulling her down the hall.

"Merlin, please, answer me!" she cried, desperate. She was terrified- terrified for her kingdom, for her people, for Arthur. Nothing was making any sense.

"Camelot is taken," Merlin finally said. "Arthur has been captured. We need to get you out of here before they find you."

Gwen's heart dropped into her stomach. She supposed she should be grateful that her husband hadn't been killed, but being captured wasn't much better.

"Where are we going?" she asked, her voice trembling slightly. She noticed that she wasn't the only one shaking. Merlin's eyes looked dead, like everything was too much for him to handle. The hand he gripped her arm with was the only thing steady about him. The rest was trembling like a leaf.

"Somewhere safe," he said simply. He wouldn't meet her eyes.

A moment later they turned a sharp corner into a hallway filled with men. Odin's men.

Merlin froze, his hand squeezing tighter onto Gwen's arm protectively. Gwen gasped and tried to turn back into the hallway they'd just come from. Maybe they could still get away, if they just ran…

Her hopes were squashed as more of Odin's men rounded the corner on the other side, surrounding them. One man who appeared to be the leader stepped forward, smiling down at the queen and the servant maliciously.

"It is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance, Queen Guinevere," he leered. "I am Lord Dareth of the court of Odin."

"Where is Arthur?' Gwen demanded as the men surrounding her and Merlin stepped forward, yanked the sword out of her hand and grabbed their arms, tying them tightly behind their backs. "What have you done with him?"

"Don't worry my dear little queen, you will be reunited with your husband shortly. I'm sure he'll be very happy to see the both of you," the man responded, glancing over at Merlin.

Merlin was acting oddly pensive, simply standing there with his head lowered, looking at the floor. Gwen was confused. The Merlin she knew wouldn't just stand there, even when they were so surrounded. He would struggle and demand to know more about Arthur, and he would never, ever, give up so easily.

Lord Dareth gave them another look, then turned to his men. "Put them in the cage with the king," he commanded. "And quickly. There's still a long ways to go tonight."

* * *

Crouching outside Camelot's walls, Gwaine cursed himself again.

No matter how hard he'd searched, he hadn't found Gwen or Merlin. It was like they'd disappeared into thin air. He'd even begun looking in broom closets and other nooks and crannies, hoping they'd be hiding in there. And while he didn't find the queen or his friend, he _did _find something else important- Excalibur. How the king's sword had ended up in a broom closet Gwaine didn't know, but he grabbed it and slipped it under his belt alongside his own sword. He could hold on to it for Arthur for now.

When Odin's army began to swarm the castle, the knight found he had little choice but to flee then, or allow himself to get captured or killed. And as much as he'd wanted to keep searching for Gwen and Merlin, he knew someone had to make it out of Camelot alive.

He'd stopped once he'd fled the city walls to catch his breath, the scroll from the library still snug beneath his shirt. The knight had been about to get up and keep running, when a horse-drawn carriage burst out of the city. He watched as the carriage grew closer, shrinking down against the wall in the hopes he wouldn't be spotted. When it was nearly upon him, however, Gwaine became so angry he probably wouldn't have cared if they saw him or not.

It wasn't a carriage. It was a cage on wheels. And sitting bound inside were Arthur, Gwen, and Merlin.

Gwaine growled in anger. It was the last straw. Nobody came marching into his home, killing and destroying left and right, then took his king, queen, and best friend away from him.

Pulling himself to his feet, Gwaine began running after the carriage. It was going to be a long night.

* * *

**Review! I love them! They make me happy! And a happy author means quicker updates! So it's a win-win situation, right? :)**


	8. An Underground Palace

**Aaaaaaaaand we have a winner! Congrats to Hiphuggers2, my 100th reviewer! Thanks still to everyone else who reviewed, you guys make it all worth it. Well, that and it's just really fun to write this stuff. But you guys give me a good excuse to stay up in the late hours of the day reveling in Merlin-ness. :D**

**This is my longest chapter yet, but it's not the longest one I've written. So enjoy chapter 8! Things are really starting to heat up now... :)**

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Chapter 8: An Underground Palace

Arthur felt stiff, sore, and utterly disgraced.

Not to mention terrified, betrayed, and downright mad. It was one thing to lose in a battle where both sides had fought honorably and bravely. It was entirely different matter to lose in a battle against an army of cowards that had cheated their way to victory. Of course, in both situations, he lost. But at least in one of them the odds were even. In this case, Camelot hadn't even stood a chance. He had every right to feel this way.

At the moment, however, Arthur was primarily feeling humiliated. As if using an inside man to take over his kingdom in the middle of the night without warning wasn't bad enough, Lord Dareth had bound him, thrown him in a cage, and wheeled him out of Camelot like some sort of animal for display. Oh, and he'd thrown in Guinevere and Merlin. That certainly added fuel to the inferno.

Gwen was sitting snuggled up against Arthur, half dozing with her head on his shoulder. Merlin sat on Arthur's other side, staring straight ahead with no expression. None of them had said anything for the entire journey, which was now stretching into the afternoon following the night of the attack. They had stopped twice to rest and water the horses, but other than that there had been no pauses.

Arthur was grateful at least that Lord Dareth hadn't gotten his hands on Excalibur. For some reason, Arthur was particularly protective of that sword. When he'd realized they were going to be overrun, he'd quickly hidden it in a nearby broom closet before surrendering. It felt wrong to shove such a precious sword in with the cleaning supplies, but it was better than letting it fall into enemy hands. Dareth may have captured him, his kingdom, his wife, and his best friend, but at least he didn't have his sword.

It was only a small comfort.

Arthur glanced over at Merlin. His face still held the same passive indifference as it had when they'd first left Camelot. A gnawing feeling of concern for his friend started up again in his stomach. It was perfectly clear to Arthur why Dareth had taken him and Guinevere. They were the king and queen of Camelot, after all. But for the life of him Arthur couldn't figure out why Merlin had been thrown in the mix. He was just a servant, after all. He had no real court standing.

Then again, nothing concerning Merlin for the past week or so had made any sense. And Arthur was positive it all linked back to the night he had almost been kidnapped.

Sighing in frustration, Arthur turned his thoughts back to the events at hand. He couldn't believe Odin would be this forward. He hadn't even declared war on Camelot before marching in and taking it over. Of course, Odin hadn't always been the most honorable of kings. He _had_ sent several assassins after Arthur over the years, and his men were never shy of attacking Camelot's knights when they strayed near the border. But to send a full-fledged army into Camelot without even the slightest warning? That was the sort of thing Morgana did. Not a king like Odin, no matter his sense of honor.

There was also the small fact of the army itself. There was no way Odin could have organized such an assault and gotten them to Camelot in the amount of time that had passed since Odin's councilors had been found dead. That meant Odin had already been planning this. Maybe all the peace talks had simply been a cover, something to make Arthur let down his guard. And Odin seemed to have a man working for him on the inside, someone who would open the gates of Camelot to let the enemy march in.

Strangely, Arthur found he wasn't all that disturbed to consider there being a spy within Camelot. He'd had more than his share of traitors between Morgana and Agravaine, and he'd somewhat accepted the fact that people seemed to like betraying him. No, what bothered him the most was the idea that Odin had been planning this all along. He sincerely hoped that wasn't the case, but he could think of no other explanation for the sudden attack and conquer of Camelot.

The cage suddenly jerked to a stop. Gwen was shaken awake from the jolt and she let out a little gasp of surprise. Arthur wished he could pull her into his arms, but they were still bound tightly behind his back.

"Why did we stop?" Gwen whispered fearfully. Arthur shook his head.

"I don't know," he responded softly, glancing towards Merlin. He still hadn't reacted to anything. He appeared deep in thought. "Anything to add, Merlin?" the king said, trying not to let his concern become evident in his voice.

Merlin blinked and shook his head, as if he'd just woken up. "What? Uh, no. No, I don't know," he said quickly. He wouldn't meet Arthur's eyes.

"Quit talking in there!" a gruff voice called. Its owner walked into view a moment later, a large, dark-clothed man with a long sword sheathed at his belt. His face was covered with dark fabric that only opened for his eyes. Beside him stood the driver of the cage-on-wheels, a smaller, wirier man also dressed in black and masked. The driver hurried towards the cage door with the key and opened it, then stepped aside to allow the larger man access.

"Well, well, looks as though my lord was successful," the large man leered, staring down at the three captives. "King Arthur Pendragon, in the flesh. Truly, it is an honor to finally meet you, sire."

Arthur thought he could literally feel his blood boiling. "Who are you? Why did Odin attack Camelot?" he cried, trying to appear as calm and collected as he could, given the circumstances. It would do no good to let this man know how unhinged he was feeling. The man let out a chuckle.

"I'm afraid you misunderstand the situation, your highness," the man mocked. "King Odin had nothing to do with it."

_What?_ That certainly was not what Arthur was expecting to hear. Gwen appeared shocked as well, glancing at her husband with wide eyes. Merlin just sighed quietly as if he'd known this all along.

"But… Lord Dareth…" Arthur stammered.

"Let's not waste any more time out here. I need to get you three inside." The man stepped forward. He grabbed Arthur by the arm and hoisted him to his feet. Arthur winced as his legs suddenly had to take the weight of his body again, and he staggered into the man, losing his balance. The man laughed again and Arthur, embarrassed, managed to straighten himself up a bit.

"Go ahead then, sire," the man mocked, motioning towards the cage door. Arthur didn't want to comply with anything this man said, but he also knew that the chances of escape were much higher outside of the horrible cage.

There were more men surrounding the cage now, all dark-clothed and masked like the driver and the large man. As soon as Arthur stumbled out of the cage they grabbed his bound arms and held him in place. Gwen was forced out of the cage after Arthur, and then Merlin.

"Very good, we're all feeling cooperative," the large man said, stepping out of the cage. He walked over to Arthur and leaned in until their faces were only a few inches away. "Now listen carefully, your majesty," the man said, dead serious. "There will be no funny business as we move you. No attempts to escape. We have been ordered to get you and your little queen to my lord's place in one piece, but there were no orders either way about neckerchief over there. Understand?"

Arthur's eyes hardened in anger. He nodded. He understood alright. Any misbehaving would be taken out on Merlin.

"Good," the man said. He backed away from Arthur and motioned at his men. "Let's take them within!"

The men gripping Arthur's arms pushed him forwards into a march, the other men holding Guinevere and Merlin following behind. At first Arthur was very confused. It appeared they were just walking into the forest. There were no castles or strongholds nearby. But as they kept walking, he began to make out the sound of water crashing. A waterfall.

About twenty minutes later the waterfall came into view. The group headed straight towards it, sloshing through the shallow water at its base. Arthur thought they were going to pass through it, like he, Merlin, and his knights had done when they went searching for the dragon egg, but instead they made a sharp right turn as they came to the waterfall. There, hidden in the shadows, was a cave entrance.

Another masked man was standing guard just inside the cave, but when he saw the group he stepped aside and allowed them all to enter. It was nearly pitch black in the tunnel, with only an occasional torch on the walls to light the way. That didn't appear to be a problem for the masked men, however. They continued to push Arthur, Gwen, and Merlin along through several long, winding tunnels until they reached what appeared to be cells.

The large man stepped ahead of the men holding Arthur and pulled several keys from his belt. He unlocked one and yanked the door open.

"In you go, King Arthur," he said. The men holding him let go of his arms and sliced away the ropes binding his hands with a knife, then shoved him inside the cell.

It was only after the door had closed shut behind him and was being locked that Arthur realized Gwen and Merlin were not in there with him.

"Guinevere! Merlin!" he called, rushing to his cell door and clutching at his barred window with stiff, numb fingers. His heart pounded furiously in his chest. He didn't want them out of his sight.

"It's alright, Arthur!" Merlin called back. Arthur couldn't see him. He could barely make out anything in the cold gloom of the tunnels. "We'll be fine! Just don't-"

A loud smack resonated down the tunnel, coupled with a pained grunt. Arthur heard Gwen gasp and cry out, "Leave him alone! Don't hurt him!"

"Merlin!" Arthur called out again. He heard some scuffling and then another yelp, followed by footsteps disappearing down the corridor. "Guinevere! Merlin!"

A chuckle drifted in from outside Arthur's cell, and the captured king realized the large man was still standing by his door.

"Where are you taking them? What are you going to do to them?" Arthur demanded viciously, his knuckles turning white from his strong grip on the bars.

"Don't worry about them, sire. We have orders not to kill anyone until after Lord Dareth speaks to you."

Arthur's heart lowered into his stomach. He heard another small chuckle and then more footsteps. The man was walking away.

Arthur sunk onto the floor of his cell, trapped in the darkness. He felt strangely empty. At first he didn't understand why, but then he realized it was the first time since they'd met that Merlin had not been with him when they were trapped in a situation like this.

For the first time, Arthur truly felt alone.

* * *

Gwaine paused to catch his breath, leaning in on himself and wheezing. Who knew carrying two swords and a scroll while chasing after a horse-drawn cage on wheels for over a day could be this exhausting?

Alright, the scroll didn't really make a difference, but still.

The knight had lost the cage almost as soon as it had whipped past him the night before. He hadn't expected to catch up with it, however. Even a knight as strong and powerful as Gwaine couldn't run as fast as a horse.

He'd considered sneaking back into Camelot to get one of the horses from the royal stables, but he decided it was too risky. He couldn't afford to get caught, and he didn't want to lose Arthur, Gwen, and Merlin's trail. That was one good thing about chasing a horse-drawn cage on wheels- it wasn't exactly sneaky. There were huge ruts in the forest floor from the wheels and horse prints all over the path.

Gwaine took a few more deep breaths then started running again, his own sword and Excalibur clanging uncomfortably at his side. He'd almost ditched the king's sword at one point, thinking he'd come back for it after this was all over, but he changed his mind. Arthur would be furious if he lost his special sword in the middle of the forest, and besides, it wouldn't be a bad idea to arm the king once he got him free. Arthur was still the best swordsman in Camelot, even if he did less fighting these days now he was king and not prince.

_The things I do for that princess_, Gwaine thought, panting as he ran. There was still a long way to go.

* * *

Arthur was shaken out of his depressed slouch on the floor of his cell a few hours later when his door swung open suddenly. He jumped, startled, and immediately scrambled to his feet.

His eyes had acclimated to the dark somewhat, so he could now make out a large, dark-clothed figure standing in the doorway. A small chuckle confirmed that it was the man from earlier.

"Where are Merlin and Guinevere?" Arthur asked without hesitation. The man shook his head and stepped toward the king. Another man was now visible beside him, holding what appeared to be a pair of shackles.

"Lord Dareth is going to answer all of your questions now," the large man said. He nodded at the other man, who stepped into the cell and walked directly up to Arthur, holding out the shackles.

Arthur glared at the chains in disdain. They'd have to force him into those.

"Go on, be a good little king and put them on, your highness," the man said, his mocking tone returning. "Or we may have to take it out on your servant."

Arthur clenched his jaw. He raised his hands slowly and placed them in the cuffs, allowing the man beside him to close and lock them.

"If you have done anything to him, or to my wife-" Arthur seethed, his voice low and threatening.

"You will see for yourself in a moment," the large man said. He motioned for Arthur to walk out of the cell. Arthur followed him, his fury building. Guinevere and Merlin had better be alright. If they weren't…

He didn't want to think about if they weren't.

The men led Arthur through the darkness for a while, going through so many twisting, turning tunnels it gave Arthur a headache. Everything looked and felt the same- dark, cold, and damp. When they turned into a certain tunnel, however, Arthur noticed a soft light coming from the other end. As they got closer, he realized it was coming from two large torches hooked onto the walls with braces. They were on either side of a huge wooden door that looked completely out of place.

They stopped Arthur when he reached the torches, and the large man stepped forward to the door. He knocked three times on the wood surface, an odd, almost haunting echo following each knock. Then the door was swung open from the inside and Arthur was shoved into…

… A palace. That was the best way to describe the place. It was still rather dark, needing to be lit by a huge, flaming chandelier hanging from the high-arched ceiling, but had it not been underground Arthur would have thought it was the throne room for a neighboring king. Beautiful tapestries decorated the walls and gold and silver ornaments were found glittering in the eerie flickering light of the chandelier. A large throne was erected in the center of the room, carved out of rare and expensive dark wood and embedded with more silver and gold. It was darkly beautiful.

The only thing that took away from the scene was a prisoner Arthur noticed on the other side of the room. He was sitting on the floor, his hands shackled to the wall about level with his head. He was wearing nothing but rags and a bag was over his head, hiding his identity from Arthur. He was sagging in his chains, his head lolling onto his chest. He must have been asleep or unconscious.

"Who is that man?" Arthur asked, forgetting for a moment that he, too, was a prisoner here. The large man didn't answer, just laughed and pushed Arthur onto his knees. A few moments later another door opened from the other side of the room, and in was pushed Gwen and Merlin, both shackled like Arthur.

Arthur stiffened and gave each of them a look over. Guinevere seemed fine, a little shaky and frightened but unharmed. Merlin appeared to be in one piece as well, but there was now a large bruise on the left side of his face, probably from the hit he had received earlier for speaking. Both of them looked anxiously over at Arthur, asking him silently if he was alright. Arthur responded with a small nod, and returned the question. He wanted desperately to go to them, to talk to them and _make sure_ they were alright, but he knew that would only make things worse. Their reaction to Merlin earlier had been proof enough of that.

They all knelt silently for a while, waiting for their captor to finally show his face. Finally, out of yet another side entrance, Lord Dareth stepped into his throne room.

"Welcome, to my humble home," the lord said smoothly, smiling down at them. "I hope everything is to your pleasure, King Arthur."

"This is completely out of line, Lord Dareth," Arthur responded, his temper building up in him again. "I will give you one chance to release us and I may allow you to escape Camelot's fury."

Lord Dareth grinned even wider. Now that they weren't in the heat of battle, Arthur could get a better look at the treacherous lord. He looked to be in his mid-fifties, with dark brown hair streaked with gray. He had a small, well-trimmed beard and moustache below piercing green eyes.

"Oh, my dear young king, I believe I have already escaped Camelot's fury, and without having to agree to anything you say," he said. He walked to his throne and took a seat, his eyes never leaving Arthur's.

"Release my wife and servant, at least," Arthur pleaded. "They have nothing to do with this."

Lord Dareth laughed. "Oh, they have everything to do with this, especially your servant. Isn't that right, _Merlin_?"

Arthur's eyes snapped to his friend. Merlin was looking at the ground guiltily, his eyes filled with sorrow and regret.

"What are you talking about?" Arthur demanded, looking back at Lord Dareth. Dareth raised his eyebrows.

"I believe you have more questions than that for me, Arthur," he drawled. "Go ahead and ask away. I might as well tell you, as none of you is ever going to leave this place again."

Arthur skin crawled at the man's voice. He tried to get onto his feet, but the two men beside him pushed him back down. "If you're going to kill me, why wait? Do it now!" he cried.

Lord Dareth shook his head. "Don't be silly, Arthur. I'm not going to kill _you_. Those two? I'll be killing them. But not you."

He stood up from his throne and walked closer to the captive king, seeming to enjoy the horror and despair that was filling his eyes. "No, you are much, much too precious to just kill. Oh, no. I have other plans for you, King Arthur. Plans that need you very much alive."

* * *

**Oh no! What are Lord Dareth's plans? What is he plotting? What will it mean for poor Arthur? Will Gwaine find them in time? Will Kilgarah go beserk at someone other than Arthur touching Excalibur? (thanks for that, Laughy-Taffy the Grape, that made me laugh :P) **

**Please review to find out! Well, all but the Kilgarah thing. Unfortunately the Great Dragon doesn't make a cameo in this fic. :(**


	9. The Puppet Master

**Hooray for Chapter Nine! In this one lots of things are revealed... and some things just get more mysterious. :P **

**Thanks again to everyone who reviewed and everyone who is following this story. It's really motivating! :D**

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter 9: The Puppet Master

_"Don't be silly, Arthur. I'm not going to kill you. Those two? I'll be killing them. But not you. No, you are much, much too precious to just kill. Oh, no. I have other plans for you, King Arthur. Plans that need you very much alive."_

Arthur swallowed hard. His heart hammered against his chest like a battering ram. An evil image of Guinevere and Merlin lying cold and lifeless filled his mind and he had to hold himself back from crying out in horror.

"Why?" he managed to choke out. Dareth smirked. The king's face must have betrayed all of the emotions rushing through him.

"That's quite a broad question, little king. Perhaps you should be more specific." Arthur could tell the man was playing with him, taunting him. Part of him wanted to seal his lips and not give Dareth the satisfaction, but there was another, stronger part that desperately had to know the answers. Maybe after hearing everything he could talk to the man, convince him to release Merlin and Guinevere.

"Perhaps I should," Arthur shot back. "Why did you attack my kingdom?" Dareth nodded.

"That's better. I'll tell you. I've been waiting a long time to finally reveal my plans to someone." He backed away from Arthur and sat down in his throne, leaning back casually. "You know, of course, that I am a part of King Odin' court. One could even say I am his right-hand man."

The way Dareth spat Odin's name made it clear he was not exactly pleased to be in this position.

"Many years ago, my great-great grandfather owned much of the land that Odin now rules over. It was forcibly taken from him when Odin's ancestor conquered the land, but in compensation he made my great-great grandfather a lord in his court. As if that could make up for robbing my family of our land and our name," Dareth said bitterly.

"I am sorry for your loss, but what does this have to do with Camelot?" Arthur interrupted. Lord Dareth held up his hand.

"Be patient, young king," he scolded. He settled back into his throne a little more, like he was trying to get more comfortable. "For generations my family has tried to regain our lost lands. Each attempt has been met with nothing but failure. Soon it became more than just trying to get what is rightfully ours back. We wanted revenge. We wanted Odin and his predecessors to feel what we had felt, to have everything taken from him. So instead our motive became to dethrone the king."

"My father made several attempts at this, but again nothing was successful. When he died and his title as Lord was passed to me, the revenge became my burden. But I was ready for it. I took a different path than my predecessors, and instead of distancing myself from the king, I grew close to him. I made him trust me, listen to my advice. Eventually, in his old age, he even entrusted me with the command of his army."

Lord Dareth gave Arthur a wide grin. Arthur could see where this was going, and he didn't like it.

"Of course, as you well know, Odin was trying to make peace with Camelot at this time. As much as he still hated you, he decided to put aside his personal vendetta against the Pendragons so his kingdom could be free of that burden when he finally passed. But I needed him to still hate Camelot. He was distracted in his hatred, especially when I pretended to share it with him. He was insistent on making peace however, so I had to alter my plans. And as I was changing them, I realized how much more there was to be gained besides Odin's kingdom. If all went to plan, I could also control all of Camelot."

Arthur felt himself shaking in anger. "So you would march in and take my kingdom just because it would help you take revenge on a different kingdom?!"

Dareth raised an eyebrow. "Something like that, yes. But there's still more for me to tell you. Do you want to learn what, or should I stop?"

If looks could kill, Dareth would have been dead ages ago. Arthur glowered at him, but he couldn't help but still feel curious. How Dareth had accomplished all this was still a mystery. Arthur tried to calm his breathing and looked over at Gwen and Merlin. Gwen was sitting straight up, listening to everything with wide eyes. Merlin was staring at the floor, his shoulders slumped. As Arthur watched, he thought he could see a tear slide down his friend's cheek and drip onto the floor.

Arthur tore his gaze away from his servant and looked back at Lord Dareth. "Were you behind the kidnap attempt on my servant a few weeks ago?" he challenged. A surprised look flitted across the lord's face.

"Very good, Arthur. I was indeed," Dareth affirmed.

"Why would you try to take him? What advantage would you have gained from that?" Arthur cried. Dareth shook his head at him, as if he couldn't believe Arthur could be so stupid.

"And to think just a moment ago I thought I might have underestimated your intelligence. Truly Arthur, you don't see the advantage to having the personal manservant to the king in your hands? Merlin is privy to many secrets of your kingdom, having stood in many council meetings with you and traveling with you everywhere you go. He knows about as much about Camelot as you do, young king, and he is much easier to get a hold of. I tried to kidnap him to get information about your kingdom. Unfortunately it didn't work out."

If Arthur had been paying better attention, he may have noticed the way Merlin glanced guiltily up at Lord Dareth at the remark before looking away again. But the captive king was too preoccupied being outraged to do anything but glare at the lord. That man had meant to use Merlin to get information about Camelot, and knowing what a selfless idiot Merlin was, he wouldn't have given any up easily. Lord Dareth had planned on torturing Merlin. Arthur wanted to jump to his feet and attack the man, hands shackled or not, but the two men holding him down tightened their grip on his shoulders like they knew what he was thinking.

"That means you hired a sorcerer to help you. Grayton, or whatever his name is," Arthur growled. Dareth blinked. He looked genuinely surprised for a moment.

"Why yes, Grayton works for me. I was not aware you knew of that name, little king. But no matter. You are already here. My plan is already in motion, and you can't do anything to stop me now."

"You haven't finished telling me your plan, Lord Dareth," Arthur called. "Now that you've conquered Camelot and taken me, my wife, and my servant captive what exactly is it that you are going to do now?"

"Ah, yes, of course. I was about to say before you rudely interrupted me earlier. But I have a bit more to explain before I get to that part. Don't you want to know why I sent Grayton to kill Odin's embassy?"

"And injure my knights," Arthur growled. Dareth smirked.

"Yes, and injure your knights. In truth, you should be grateful. I told Grayton to make sure your knights weren't any trouble, so he could have killed them if he so chose. Mortally injuring them did the trick as well though. Silly little Grayton, always trying to avoid killing people. If I hadn't outright commanded him to kill Odin's men he probably wouldn't have done that either."

"So why _did_ you command him to kill Odin's men?" Arthur snapped. He was growing tired of Dareth playing with him. It was humiliating, and Arthur was desperate to hold on to what little pride he had left.

"Two reasons: they were going to speed the process of peace between you and Odin, which as I said before I cannot have. And their deaths, especially when you had so assuredly insisted that they would be safe on their travels, would be enough to convince Odin to allow me to attack Camelot. What he didn't know was that I had been ready to attack for weeks, and that I wouldn't declare war before starting my assault. Odin has no idea that Camelot has already been taken, and that you are my prisoner. And he will never find out."

"And now we're back to your question. What am I going to do with you now?" Dareth continued. He leaned forward in this throne like he was anxious to tell his prisoner what came next. Arthur felt a shiver run down his spine. "Why, I am going to keep you here, King Arthur. But no one will even know you are here. No one will know you are missing, because Arthur Pendragon will still be ruling as king of Camelot."

* * *

Gwaine had reached the end of the line. Literally. He had no idea where Arthur, Gwen and Merlin had been taken.

He'd followed the ruts from the cage for several more hours, stopping a few times to catch his breath. He was seriously exhausted. He hadn't slept at all the night of the invasion, and he'd been in constant pursuit since then with no food or water. At first the adrenaline from the chase kept him moving, but as the day wore on and began to turn into evening his legs seemed to stop working. But he didn't allow himself to stop. He was his friends' last hope now, and by default, seeing that the king was one of the friends he was trying to rescue, the last hope of Camelot.

Gwaine felt pretty important when he thought of it that way.

So important, in fact, that he didn't stop again until he reached a point that looked different. There were a lot of human footprints around the spot, all mushing over each other and getting scrambled in such a way he couldn't make out any one person from the next. But it was the first set of human prints he'd seen since he began this trek, and that was something to think on.

The tracks from the carriage continued forward, but Gwaine decided to trust his gut instinct on this one and follow the footprints. They led away from the trail and into the woods, where it was a bit more difficult to see the prints. But now that the knight knew to look for them, he didn't have much of a problem seeing where they'd gone.

He followed the new trail more slowly, which his aching body thanked him for. He could tell he was getting closer to his friends. He was starting to get really excited, even beginning to grip his sword hilt in anticipation when he reached the waterfall.

And the trail ran cold.

It was about then that his wrist gave him a painful tweak, reminding him that it was still broken. Gwaine sighed. No epic sword-swinging entrance for him. He'd have to be sneaky. That is, if he ever figured out where they'd gone.

He rechecked the sandy area around the small pool created by the fall for more footprints, maybe heading off in a different direction, but saw none. The trail he had been following seemed to lead straight into the water. Gwaine supposed that they could have gone through the waterfall, but he didn't see that as likely. It looked from here like there was a solid stone wall behind the fall. Nowhere much to go once you'd crossed through the water.

The knight cried out in frustration and collapsed on the ground. What was he supposed to do now? Wait and see if any bad guys poked their heads out? Yeah, that would sure be fun. Maybe he could take a nap while he waited. He certainly needed one. But no, he couldn't just give up searching yet. Maybe there was a secret underwater trapdoor that led to an underground lair, or something. Or maybe there wasn't any water there at all, it was just an illusion created with magic…

Well, there was one way to test that theory. Gwaine was really thirsty anyway. He crawled forwards and nearly dunked his entire head in the pool, sucking in water like it was mead. Naw, definitely real water. Gwaine drank several more long gulps before he surfaced for good, feeling a bit more refreshed than he had before. A freezing cold splash to the face will do that.

As Gwaine contemplated diving in for another drink, he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. Or maybe he just felt something, that strange prickly feeling he got when he was being watched. Slowly, Gwaine knelt up taller and looked around, his hand fingering his sword. Nothing.

Then he felt the knife at his neck. Gwaine stiffened, trying to get a glimpse of the knife's owner without moving his head. It didn't work too well. All he saw was a smudge of black.

"Who are you?" the knife-man asked. "What are you doing so close to our territory?"

Gwaine decided to go the dumb and oblivious route. "Uh, sorry, what territory? I didn't know this was anyone's territory, I was just real tired see, and I was thirsty, so I-"

"Who are you?" the man repeated, tightening his grip on Gwaine's neck. Gwaine swallowed in pretend nerves, his mind going on overdrive.

"M-my name's Gwaine," he stammered, hoping that his real name was a common enough one not to raise suspicion. "I'm a simple traveler, just trying to get to my home town of-"

"What's a simple traveler doing with two finely-made swords?" the man growled. Gwaine cursed silently. He'd forgotten about the swords. While his was fairly simple- even after being knighted he liked to avoid the fancy, royal stuff- there was no way anyone could think Excalibur was anything but a king's sword. Why did all of Arthur's stuff have to be so royal-looking?

"Ah. Yes. Those." Gwaine's mind raced. He was trying to think of a good way to talk himself out of this one, but then he gave up. He was never that great at negotiating things anyway. No, instead he decided he'd have some fun. "Funny story, actually, one of them is mine but the other I'm holding on to for a friend who got taken captive. Wanna guess who?"

The knight didn't wait for an answer before suddenly slamming his head backwards into the man's stomach, knocking the wind out of him. The man gasped and staggered backward, releasing Gwaine. The knight jumped to his feet and pulled his sword out with this wrong hand. He couldn't fight as well with this arm, but that didn't mean he couldn't fight at all.

"Ooo, nice mask," Gwaine commented. His opponent was completely dressed in black, face covered and all. Only his eyes peeked through a gap in the material. Gwaine slashed forwards with his sword and the man jumped backwards, dodging the strike. He was still clinging on to his knife, but Gwaine realized that was the man's only weapon. Unless he was seriously skilled with a knife, it wouldn't pose much threat against a sword. Especially when the man wielding the sword was Sir Gwaine of Camelot.

The fight didn't last too long. It ended just as Gwaine had predicted- masked man down. He was now lying unconscious in the dirt, a hit to the head with Gwaine's hilt having done the honors. The knight looked around to see if any of the guy's friends were hiding nearby, but he didn't see anything. Crouching beside the unconscious attacker, he began to poke through his clothes, hoping to find some clue to where to go next.

Feeling the man's feet, Gwaine realized that they were wet. Soaking, even. That mean he had walked through the pool. He'd probably sloshed past while Gwaine was busy soaking his head in the water. That meant wherever they'd taken Arthur, Gwen and Merlin was past the pool.

Gwaine stood to walk into the water, hoping to get a better view, when he saw it. A small, dark opening carefully hidden just to the right of the waterfall.

A large grin grew on Gwaine's face, a plan already forming. He turned back to the unconscious man at his feet.

"Sorry buddy, but you're going to be real cold when you wake up," he said, pulling the man's face covering off and trying it on his own. Gwaine glanced in the pool at his reflection, his triumphant smile now hidden behind the cloth.

* * *

Arthur stared at the man before him in confusion. He concluded that Lord Dareth must be insane. "That's impossible," Arthur informed him. "I can't be in two places at once."

"Ah, but maybe you can," Lord Dareth said knowingly. "You seem to forget I have a sorcerer on a leash. Magic opens up a world of possibilities."

Arthur found he had no comeback for that. He knew very little about magic itself, only that the practice of it was evil. He still didn't understand what Lord Dareth was plotting to do with him. He couldn't think of any sort of magic spell that would make him both a prisoner here and the ruler in his kingdom at the same time. Besides, even if that were possible, how would that help Lord Dareth? He would still be Arthur Pendragon. Nothing could change that.

Gwen, however, seemed to understand. She gasped loudly. "You mean to have your sorcerer use magic to create an impersonation of him!" she cried, speaking for the first time since she'd been brought into the underground throne room.

"Excellent deducing, Queen Guinevere," Lord Dareth praised mockingly.

"But that would never work!" Arthur cried. "Someone would notice a change, it wouldn't take too long before someone figured out it was not me, but an imposter."

Lord Dareth turned to look at Gwen and Merlin, his smile sending chills down Arthur's back. "Ah, but you see King Arthur, this is where your lovely Guinevere and loyal Merlin come into play. It is not uncommon for people to change when faced with the loss of loved ones, especially in the midst of great trauma. Just look at your own father, what your mother's death did to him. He became a completely different person."

"Do not bring my parents into this," Arthur growled, clenching his fists.

"But I digress," Dareth continued like Arthur hadn't spoken. "I doubt anyone in Camelot would lift so much as an eyebrow if their good king returned home a changed man after being taken captive from his own kingdom and forced to watch as his captors killed his wife and friend, before escaping on his own and making his way staggering home."

Arthur's heart dropped into his stomach. As much as he wanted to deny it, to tell Dareth he was wrong, he knew he was completely correct. Not even Gaius would suspect anything was out of order with Arthur acting strangely if he thought the king had just seen both Guinevere and Merlin murdered. And over time the people of Camelot would simply accept that this was the new way their king behaved. They would attribute his massive personality change to this traumatic experience, not even considering the idea that it was not their king here after all but an imposter, controlled by Lord Dareth of the court of Odin.

And Arthur didn't even want to consider what horrible things would occur with Dareth as the puppet master of Camelot.

The king looked over at Gwen and Merlin helplessly. He couldn't lose them. He just couldn't. The two of them had been his pillars for as long as he could remember, holding him up when he felt weak, loving him, teasing him, even challenging him to rethink his actions. He wasn't sure he would be able to go on without them. Of course, it wouldn't really matter whether or not he could go on if he remained here as a prisoner the rest of his life.

"You don't need to kill them," Arthur said, struggling to find the right words. He had to convince Dareth to let Merlin and Gwen live. He _had_ to. "You can keep them as prisoners here. No one in Camelot will ever need to know."

Lord Dareth shook his head. "I'm afraid that won't do. It is much easier to keep one captive rather than three, and I can't very well simply release them now that they know everything. Besides, if they were alive, it would completely ruin the story."

"If you let them live," Arthur bargained desperately, "I promise I will not try to escape. I won't fight, I won't yell, I won't even be difficult. I'll… I'll stay here my entire life as your prisoner. Just let them live."

Arthur hated pleading to anyone, much less to this villain. But if it could possibly spare Gwen and Merlin's lives, he would do anything. Even pledge to be locked up the rest of his life, no matter how much dread he felt saying those words.

Dareth cocked his head, as if he were actually considering Arthur's offer. "I am afraid nothing will change my mind, young king. But your strong feelings towards these two have had some effect on me. I was simply going to cart them off now and kill them, but instead I will give you some time with them to say your last goodbyes. I will even leave myself, to allow you more privacy."

He gave Arthur a sad smile, like this made everything better. Lord Dareth stood up from his throne and motioned at his men. "Come on men, remove all their shackles and step out for a moment. We must be civil, after all. We need to allow them to have their last moments together in peace."

Dareth grinned at the three of them, and began to walk out of the room when his foot caught on something that made him stumble a bit. On second glance, Arthur realized he'd tripped over the leg of the mystery prisoner, the man shackled and bagged on the opposite wall. The king had completely forgotten about him, and not to sound heartless, didn't really care anymore. There were other, more pressing matters on his mind. Like the look on Gwen's beautiful face, the way her curls hung down her back…

The prisoner was now stirring a bit, his head straightening up a little and his fingers twitching, a small moan escaping his lips. Dareth motioned to one of his men and looked pointedly at the shackled man. Dareth's man nodded and hurried over to the prisoner, unlocking his shackles and picking him up as if he weighed nothing. Dareth sauntered out of the throne room with one final look at Arthur, followed by the man carrying the reviving prisoner.

The other men in the throne room unshackled the three captives then stepped out of the room themselves, leaving Arthur alone with the two people he loved more than anyone else in the world, both of whom would be dead within the hour.

Arthur ran to Guinevere and took her in his arms, holding her tighter than he ever had before. She was trembling slightly, but she had yet to shed a tear. She had always been so strong, so brave. Arthur passed his hand through her hair and kissed her. He wanted to imprint her in his mind, in his arms. He never wanted to let go.

"It's going to be alright, Arthur," Gwen murmured comfortingly. "Everything's going to be alright."

Arthur had nothing to say. He didn't know it was possible for one heart to feel so much sorrow at one time.

"I love you Guinevere. I don't think I tell you that enough. I've never been a good enough husband to you, always putting my role as king before you-" Arthur said, his voice choking on the words.

"Arthur Pendragon, don't you dare say that. Don't you dare even think that. I couldn't have asked for a better husband. You have always made me so proud, and so happy. I have no regrets," Gwen said firmly, her brown eyes sinking into Arthur's blue. Words escaped Arthur. He kissed her again.

When they broke apart, Arthur turned to face Merlin. His best friend was just standing there, looking at the floor with tears streaming down his cheeks. Arthur wasn't sure how to approach him. He'd never found it easy to tell Merlin exactly all that he meant to him. And seeing Merlin crying like this wasn't helping things either.

"Merlin-" Arthur started.

"No, sire," Merlin said suddenly. "Please, don't say anything. Don't make it worse."

Arthur took a step closer. "Merlin, please-"

"You don't know. You don't get it. And I can't say…" Merlin stammered.

"There is nothing wrong with being afraid," Arthur said carefully. But in all honesty, despite all the other emotions running through his mind, Arthur was a bit confused. Merlin had faced certain death many times without this much reaction. The time with the dorocha came into mind in particular, and the time when Merlin had been injured by that mercenary in the Valley of the Fallen Kings.

"Merlin-"

A side door slammed open with a bang. Startled, Arthur turned to face the sound, only to see one of Dareth's masked men making their way into the room. Arthur pulled Gwen tighter to him and stepped closer to Merlin.

"It can't be time yet. We've barely been alone here a minute," Arthur said, his voice steely. These precious moments were the last he had with his wife and… and brother. They couldn't be over already.

The masked man drew his sword and pointed it at Arthur.

"You. King Arthur of Camelot," the man said in a strangely familiar voice. "I have something that belongs to you."

Arthur was about to argue with the man, but then he reached into his black tunic and pulled out Excalibur. The king's eyes went wide.

"My…my sword. But I hid it. They didn't find it. How did you…?" Arthur stared in wonder at the man.

"I found it. And I will only give it back if you promise to leave with me now and escape this dung-hole. Have we got a deal?"

A wide smile grew on Arthur's face. "Gwaine, I don't think I've ever been more delighted to be thoroughly annoyed."

The disguised knight pulled back his mask to show his face, revealing a wide, mischievous grin. "Always glad to be of service, my king. Now come with me. You all are my prisoners until we make it out."

* * *

**Review!**


	10. Heartbroken

**Aaaaaaand here's chapter ten! Sorry that the wait was a little longer than usual (although honestly, I update really often, so this wasn't too bad of a wait. right? :P). **

**So in the next few chapters everything FINALLY gets revealed. I just finished writing chapter twelve, and man! I am REALLY pumped to give you guys that one! But we've got to get through ten and eleven first. :) So for those of you dying of confusion- bear with me! The answers are coming, I swear! **

**One more thing- I think it would be kind of fun if in each review you guys told me what you think is going on with Merlin, especially after this chapter. I'd like to know how many have been able to pick up the clues and piece bits together in the right way. :)**

**Alright, enough of me- enjoy chapter ten!**

* * *

Chapter 10: Heartbroken

Gwaine had to admit, he was pretty genius.

It hadn't been too hard to get into the tunnels once he'd put on the other man's black clothes. No one he passed even looked twice at him. Gwaine wished that all the places he had to sneak into had uniforms like this. It made it a lot easier to blend in.

The tunnels were long, winding, and confusing. After wandering around for a while, he was pretty sure he was going to just get lost in this labyrinth and never see the light of day again. It wasn't exactly a cheery thought. But then he saw a light at the far end of a tunnel, a brighter one than he'd seen so far. Intrigued, the knight crept closer until it became clear the source of the light were two large torches attached to either side of the wall, illuminating a wooden door.

Gwaine came close to the door and pressed his ear up against it, trying to figure out what the door led to. Through it he could hear muffled voices, or mainly one voice ranting on about revenge and Odin's court and killing people. Every now and then another voice chimed in, usually shooting an angry question. Gwaine smiled. Even if he hadn't recognized that voice, he sure recognized that tone. Arthur was seriously upset about something.

Gwaine examined the door. It didn't appear locked. If he wanted to, he could jump in right now. But he decided to wait and listen some more, try to figure out when the best moment to free his friends were. He could only hear Arthur, but from what was being said he was pretty sure Merlin and Gwen were in there as well.

Then the mean ranting voice- who Gwaine now realized was Lord Dareth- said something about unshackling them and leaving them in peace for their goodbyes, or some other rubbish, and Gwaine knew he'd found his chance. It was almost too perfect. They were going to leave Arthur, Gwen, and Merlin alone in that room, unbound and unguarded. Could they have made his job any easier?

A moment later Gwaine had to jump back as his door swung open and a few black-dressed men marched out. One nodded at Gwaine.

"You gonna guard the door?" he grunted.

"Yes, I am," Gwaine lied easily. The man nodded again and continued on his way. Gwaine waited a few moments to make sure the coast was clear, and then made his grand entrance into the room.

The looks on his friend's faces when they figured out it was him were priceless.

Gwaine kept his sword drawn as the four of them hurried down the tunnel where he'd entered. The knight was glad that none of his friends had been badly hurt. Merlin had a bruise on his face, but that was about it. It would have been very difficult to move quickly together if one of them was injured. Then Gwaine's wrist throbbed and he remembered that _he_ was actually injured. Ah well, he could take it.

"Gwaine," Gwen whispered as they walked down the tunnel, "you do know how to get out of here, don't you?"

"Of course I do," Gwaine replied. He didn't miss Arthur's eye roll.

"Then why is that we've yet to find an exit?" the king said dryly. He was clutching Gwen's hand in a vice grip, like he was afraid he'd lose her in the darkness.

"Hey, just give me a little more time, alright?" Gwaine shot back.

"We don't have much time," Arthur said urgently. "Any minute now they're going to realize we're not in that room, and if they had guards at every door they'll know which one we went through. They'll be able to head us off."

"Ah, we can take them." Gwaine stopped at a fork in the tunnels, looking between the two paths. "Well, this certainly complicates things."

"Which way?" Gwen breathed. Gwaine frowned. His heart pounded in his chest. He honestly didn't know which way to go. Everything looked the same down here. He couldn't for the life of him remember which way he'd entered from.

"It's this way," Merlin suddenly said. Everyone turned to look at him, surprised. He was looking down the left tunnel, a small smile on his face.

"Are you sure?" Gwen asked. Merlin nodded.

"Of course. This way will lead us to the exit by the waterfall."

"What makes you think that, Merlin?" Arthur asked, his eyebrows raised. Merlin gave him an appraising look.

"Because I'm not a dollop-head and I pay attention to things. I recognize it from when they first took us down here," he explained. Gwaine shrugged.

"Seems as good a way as any to me," the knight said, clapping Merlin on the shoulder and grinning. "Let's carry on, shall we?"

* * *

They'd been going down this tunnel for too long, Arthur worried. It had been far, far too long for this to be the right way. Merlin was wrong. But then again, Merlin was never wrong. So why weren't they out of the tunnels by now? Arthur thought he would die of nerves and confusion.

It had been a miracle when Gwaine showed up. It gave Arthur hope in a nearly hopeless situation, even though the odds were still stacked up against them. But they were escaping. Guinevere would not die. Merlin would not die. And he would not be stuck as a prisoner in this darkness for the rest of his life. It filled him with excitement and energy, but also fear. Fear that they would be caught, that all three of his companions would be killed before his eyes. That's why they had to get out as soon as possible.

Arthur let go of Gwen's hand for the first time since they'd escaped the throne room and stepped forward to get in line with Merlin.

"Are you really certain this is the right way?" he asked quickly. Merlin locked eyes with him. The sorrow that had filled them in the throne room had disappeared, replaced with something else- hope.

"I would bet my life on it," Merlin said firmly.

"Good, because you just did. And everyone else's, for that matter," Arthur responded.

"Don't worry Arthur, you, Gwen and Gwaine will get out just fine," Merlin assured, giving Arthur a small smile.

"And you too," Arthur added.

"Ah, yes, of course. Me too." For some reason he didn't sound too happy about that.

Arthur frowned at his servant. He felt just as relieved about Merlin not being killed as he did about Gwen, but he didn't know how exactly to show it. He couldn't very well hold _Merlin's_ hand to show his relief. That would be a bit much.

"Arthur, Merlin, look!" Gwen suddenly cried, pointing ahead. Her face was full of joy and relief. "The exit!"

Sure enough, only a few meters ahead Arthur could now make out a lighter patch. It wasn't bright, but as Arthur thought about it he realized it would be night by now. That would actually be quite helpful, they could disappear into the forest easier that way.

Arthur felt the massive weight of his worry disappear almost completely. Once again, Merlin had been right. He should have learned by now not to think twice about what his servant said anymore. Of course, Arthur still couldn't relax entirely until they'd made it safely out of the tunnels and were hidden in the forest, but at least now they knew the way out. That was something.

Together they rushed toward the lighter darkness, the noise of the crashing waterfall almost sounding welcoming, like applause for their escape.

"Oh, we're nearly out. You can have this now," Gwaine called to Arthur, tossing him Excalibur. Arthur felt a thrill at holding his sword again, followed by a strange sensation of invincibility. A large grin spread across his face. Nothing could stop them now.

And so, of course, nearly the exact second they stepped out of the tunnel they found themselves surrounded by dark-clothed men.

Arthur heard Gwen gasp and Gwaine curse. Merlin set his jaw and took a small step back. Arthur gripped Excalibur tightly, silently counting the number of men he could see. There were about seven or eight visible, and who knows how many were still hiding in the shadows. They must have come to this exit as soon as Lord Dareth had discovered his prisoners were missing and waited for them.

Arthur looked at Gwaine. The knight flashed him a grin. "Think we can take them, princess?"

The king raised Excalibur. "I claim these," he called, and swung his sword at the men nearest him. Gwaine roared in approval and jumped into the fight.

Vaguely, in the back of his mind, Arthur realized he should probably be more concerned. He and Gwaine were still vastly outnumbered, and there wasn't much Gwen and Merlin could do to help. Not to mention Gwaine still had an injured wrist to worry about. But for some reason it didn't seem to bother him. Maybe it was because he finally had some control over the situation, or that he had his own sword again. Maybe he was just so full of joy and relief that Merlin and Gwen would survive. Whatever the reason, the king was fighting like he'd never fought before.

Everyone was getting soaking wet. As he fought, Arthur had walked back and forth through the waterfall several times and all the splashing from Gwaine taking down men in the pool didn't help much either. In the corner of his eye Arthur saw a soaking wet Merlin pulling Gwen out of the way of the fight and to the edge of the forest. Good. They'd both be safe if they stayed over there.

They had whittled down their opponents to three men when a large splash distracted Arthur. Parrying a blow, he glanced toward the sound and saw Gwaine struggling to right himself after taking a fall, two men standing over him. The king felt fear and dread suddenly settle in. Gwaine needed help, and fast. Arthur tried to finish off his current opponent so he could run to his knight's aid, but the enemy seemed to understand what he was trying to do and began to fight even more furiously.

"Gwaine!" Arthur heard Merlin call. No, no! That idiot needed to stay out of the fight, he couldn't handle a sword to save his life…

Suddenly two more large splashes joined the first. Arthur killed his final opponent and turned to Gwaine, only to find the knight staring in confusion at the two men who'd cornered him lying unconscious in the water. Merlin was standing a few feet away, looking pleased.

"What happened?" Arthur asked in confusion. Gwaine shrugged.

"I don't know. One moment they're on top of me, about to impale me, and the next they're on their backs."

"They slipped," Merlin supplied. The knight and the king frowned in unison at the servant.

"What?" Arthur said.

"They slipped and knocked themselves out. I saw them. These rocks are very slippery, after all. They must've lost their footing just before killing you, Gwaine," Merlin said earnestly.

"Maybe we've finally found people as clumsy as you are, Merlin," Arthur teased. He was a bit unsure about what Merlin had said, but he couldn't think of any other explanation. But it didn't really matter anyway, the men had been defeated one way or another.

Arthur gave Gwaine a hand getting to his feet. With Merlin they sloshed out of the pool and joined Gwen on the shore.

"We're safe. We made it," Gwen said, beaming. She grabbed Arthur's hand as he slid Excalibur under his belt.

"Not quite yet," he told her. "Dareth may send more men after us. We need to get away from here."

Gripping Gwen's hand tightly in his own, Arthur led his friends away from the waterfall and deep into the forest.

* * *

As soon as they'd found a place Arthur deemed far enough away to spend the night, Gwaine had all but collapsed on the ground and instantly fell asleep. Arthur didn't care, he knew how exhausted the knight must be. He was pretty worn out himself, but he volunteered for the first watch of the night so everyone else could get their rest. Gwen gave him a small kiss before settling down on the ground beside him and drifting off to a peaceful sleep. Merlin also sat down beside Arthur, but instead of lying down and falling asleep he looked at the king and frowned.

"Arthur, you look terrible. You should get some rest." Arthur snorted.

"You don't look so well yourself, Merlin. I said I'd take first watch, I'll get rest later. You should be the one resting now." Merlin shook his head.

"I'm not tired. And even if I was tired I still don't think I could get any sleep tonight." Arthur's eyebrows creased in concern. There was something about Merlin's tone that made his earlier worry return.

"Is this still about what happened the night you were almost kidnapped?" the king asked. Merlin cringed, but nodded.

"Yeah. Still about that." He shifted his feet nervously. There was a heavy pause as Arthur tried to collect his thoughts.

"What happened Merlin? I know who tried to take you now, and why. But there's something else that happened. Something you're not telling me," Arthur said softly. Merlin pursed his lips and shook his head.

"I can't say."

A ripple of frustration shot through Arthur, but he swallowed it down. It would do no good to allow his temper to take the best of him right now. As much as he wanted to cry out and shake Merlin until he finally told him what painful secret he was hiding, he knew nothing would come of it. So instead he sighed and leaned back on a tree trunk beside him.

"Alright. You can't tell me. But that won't keep me from guessing," Arthur said, eyeing his servant. Merlin shook his head.

"Why can't you just let it go, Arthur?" he said pleadingly. "I want to tell you so badly. I really do. I wish I could have told you back in Camelot, then none of this would have happened."

Arthur rolled his eyes. Leave it to Merlin to be all dramatic. "Merlin, you can't possibly blame yourself for any of this," he scolded.

Merlin was silent for a long while before responding. His voice was stuffy, like he was choked up about something.

"But it is my fault. All of it. And Arthur, what you were going to say back in the throne room, I just…" Merlin stopped, trying to get the words out. "I just couldn't let you say it. Not to me. I don't deserve them. Those words weren't meant for me."

He turned to face Arthur and met his gaze. Arthur was taken aback at the sorrow he saw in Merlin's eyes. It was just so… wrong.

"You are such a great man, Arthur Pendragon. You truly are the Once and Future King. I am so grateful I had the chance to meet you. Please know that whatever happens in the future, I am deeply sorry, and-"

"Merlin, stop it right there," Arthur commanded. His worry for his servant was now overwhelming. It was even getting to the point that the king found himself growing frightened for his friend. This was so unlike Merlin for a moment Arthur wondered if it was even really his manservant sitting beside him.

"I don't know what strange, twisted view you've got on all this to make you think it was your fault that any of this happened, or that you didn't deserve whatever I was going to say in that throne room. You're wrong. Merlin, you are my best friend. I would kill anyone who tried to harm you in a second. I want to protect you, and you are _scaring_ me, Merlin. You've been acting very unusual since the kidnap attempt and I wish you could just tell me what went wrong so I could help you. You seem to think that by not telling me you're keeping me from harm, or something, but all you're doing is hurting me more by not letting me help you. Please, Merlin."

Arthur felt strangely heavy after he finished his rant. He hadn't meant to go on and on like that, but all of the nerves and confusion concerning his servant he'd had over the past week and a half seemed to come streaming out all at once. He watched Merlin, trying to decide how he'd taken it all.

Not well, it seemed. Merlin looked completely heartbroken. He sat there, his head in his hands, trembling slightly as dry sobs racked his body. Arthur was at a loss for what to do. He'd hoped that after what he'd said, Merlin would be more responsive. The opposite seemed to have happened.

"Merlin-" he started.

"No! No more. Please. I can't… I don't deserve… Not me…" Merlin managed between sobs. Then he cried out in frustration, gripping his hair tightly in his fists. "I…can't….say!"

"It's alright Merlin! It's alright! Just…um…just settle down," Arthur said weakly, grabbing Merlin by the shoulders and trying to calm him down. Merlin shook Arthur's hands off and turned on his side, lying down facing away from the king.

"Goodnight, King Arthur," Merlin said simply, his body still shaking. Arthur stared at him, his heart aching for his friend.

"Goodnight Merlin," he responded quietly. He sighed heavily and rubbed his face. He wouldn't be getting much sleep tonight.

* * *

The next morning Arthur woke up to Gwaine's face about an inch away from his own.

"Ah!" Arthur yelled, startled. Gwaine laughed.

"Good morning, your royalness. Time to get going, we've got a lot of things to accomplish today," he said, grinning at Arthur.

Arthur blinked groggily and looked around to see Gwen a few feet away, leaning over something on the ground. Merlin was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's Merlin?" he asked, memories of the previous night still vivid in his mind.

"He's getting us breakfast. He's already brought some back for us, the lovely Guinevere is gathering it up for you," Gwaine answered, nodding toward Gwen. She turned around and smiled at Arthur, holding something cradled in a large leaf.

"Here you are, Arthur," she said, placing the leaf in his hand. It was full of berries and nuts.

"No meat?" Arthur questioned, popping a few berries into his mouth. He still had his eyes peeled for Merlin, hoping his friend would come into view soon.

"Well, if you want to prepare a fire that could alert all of Dareth's men who are searching for us out in this neck of the woods so you can cook some meat, feel free to do so," Gwaine said sarcastically. Arthur rolled his eyes and ate the berries and nuts without further comment.

"Gwaine," Arthur said after he finished eating, "what did you mean when you said we had a lot to accomplish today?"

Gwaine and Gwen exchanged glances.

"Well, we were talking this morning, and we all decided that we needed to save Camelot," Gwaine replied. Arthur raised his eyebrows.

"Really? Just the four of us? Take on Lord Dareth's army?"

"No, Arthur, you don't understand," Gwen said. "We're not going to Camelot. We're going back to Lord Dareth's lair."

Arthur straightened up in surprise. "What?"

"No, Arthur, it makes sense," Gwen continued. "We know Dareth is there. He wouldn't have left it, not when he knows we must be hiding somewhere nearby."

"His guard will be down considerably since he's probably got most of his men out searching for us," Gwaine added.

"And if we can capture Lord Dareth, we can force him to withdraw his troops from Camelot. The city will be saved!" Gwen finished excitedly.

"Not to mention it'll be the last place he'll expect us to go," Arthur chimed in, understanding the plan. He frowned. "It's very risky."

Gwen and Gwaine's faces fell a little. "We know," Gwaine said. "But it's the only plan we have."

Arthur thought for a moment. They were right, of course. What else could only four people do against an entire army?

"Alright then," he agreed. "We'll do it. But I have one condition." Arthur looked Gwen in the eyes. "Guinevere, I want you to stay here."

Gwen's face flushed in indignation and she opened her mouth to argue, but Arthur stopped her. "I know you can fight and I know you are brave and strong. But you haven't been trained like a knight and Gwaine and I have. I want you to stay safe."

"What about Merlin? He's not a knight," Gwen pointed out. Arthur nodded.

"I know. But Gwaine and I will need another hand and Merlin has had more experience in situations like this than you. Believe me, it's not because I don't love and trust you. It's because I want at least someone to survive this, in case everything doesn't go as planned." He looked at her pleadingly. "Please, Guinevere. For me."

Gwen looked at him, and then sighed. "Fine. I'll stay here," she said finally. Arthur kissed her forehead.

"Thank you."

"Ah, there's our missing man!" Gwaine called as Merlin came back into view, cradling more berries and nuts in his arms. "Ready to go take down Lord Dareth?"

Merlin looked at Arthur as he answered Gwaine's question. His eyes were stone cold. "I've been ready since the day I met him."

* * *

**So tell me what you think's going on! Let's see who the Sherlock Holmes of the group is... :)**


	11. Betrayed

**Okay, I need to take a moment to thank you all again. Your reviews have been so thoughtful, so motivating, it has really helped me keep going with this story. Thank you so much to all my reviewers, especially my regulars. You guys make it all worth it, so thank you.**

**It's been fun reading what hypotheses people have about what's going on. Honestly, there are a few of you who are spot on. I read them, and I was like, "Whaaat? How did you get in my mind?" :P But not everyone has it, so I guess that means I've been leaving good clues. If nobody had any idea that was close at this point in the story, I might have had to re-evaluate how good my hints throughout the chapters have been.**

**Okay, enough talk- read chaper 11! And please don't kill me at the end! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 11: Betrayed

Gwen watched anxiously as Merlin, Arthur, and Gwaine prepared to return to Dareth's labyrinth. She was nervous and hated the idea of sitting here all alone, waiting, until they came back. She'd had to do that far too many times when Arthur had ridden out on quests and missions over the years. Gwen found it to be a much harder task than actually going on the journey itself.

But she'd promised Arthur she'd stay here. And so stay she would.

In the middle of swinging his sword a bit to get warmed up, Gwaine suddenly stopped and looked surprised. He sheathed his sword and reached under his tunic with his uninjured hand. "I nearly forgot…" he muttered.

"What is it, Gwaine?" Gwen asked, stepping towards the knight curiously. Gwaine pulled out from under his shirt a crumpled, somewhat soggy scroll. Gwen seriously hoped it was wet from all the water yesterday, and not from being trapped under Gwaine's shirt for who knows how long.

"It's a scroll from Camelot's library. I found it the night of the invasion," Gwaine answered, rolling it open. Standing a few feet away Arthur scoffed.

"You, Gwaine? In the library?" he said. "I fear for Camelot's records."

"Gaius sent me there," Gwaine told the king. "He asked me to do some research on Grayton, especially in connection with the court of Odin."

Gwen noticed Merlin looking at Gwaine with his eyes narrowed. He seemed intrigued by this turn of events, but not in his usual light-hearted, curious sort of way. His eyes were glued intently to the knight's face, occasionally flashing to the scroll his hand. For some reason it unnerved Gwen.

"Of course, now we know what Grayton's connection with Odin's court is," Gwaine continued.

"Lord Dareth," Arthur said angrily.

"Yes, but look what my intuition gave us. I didn't know at the time Dareth was plotting all of this, and yet I still grabbed this very record," the knight bragged. Gwen took the scroll from him and shared it with Arthur.

"It's Dareth's family tree," Gwen realized, looking over the names, lines, and dates written in tiny writing all over the parchment.

"What does this tell us, Gwaine?" Arthur asked, squinting at the small words. Merlin walked over and peered over Arthur's shoulder at the scroll, but to Gwen it almost seemed more like he was trying to observe Arthur's face more than what was written on the scroll.

Gwaine smiled proudly. "Check out the name of his great-great grandpa."

"Grayton," Gwen read aloud in surprise. "His great-great grandfather's name was Grayton."

"Just like his sorcerer," Gwaine supplied.

"Dareth said his great-great grandfather was the one he was getting revenge for. He was the one whose lands were stolen by Odin's ancestor," Arthur realized. He put down the scroll and frowned in confusion. "They have the same name. Why is that significant?"

Gwen shook her head. Her stomach was rolling with anxious butterflies. For some inexplicable reason, Gwen felt like they were one step away from something important. Something that might finally explain all the strange happenings of the past few weeks. She glanced again at Merlin. He was now staring at the floor, his hands clenched nervously.

"Merlin," the queen said, walking to him. "Do you have any ideas?"

Merlin looked a bit startled at the attention, but shook his head. "Nope. No idea."

Gwen could tell he was lying. He knew something. And even if he wasn't lying, it wasn't like Merlin not to throw his two bits in. "Are you sure?"

"Wait," Gwaine suddenly cried, tossing his hair out of his eyes. "I think I have an idea. Arthur, what did Lord Dareth look like?"

Arthur looked confused. "What does that have to do-"

"Just tell me. Did he have green eyes? Brown hair?" Gwaine was now pacing excitedly.

"Why, yes. Yes he did," Arthur confirmed.

"And did he look old enough to have a child, say, around twenty years old or so?"

"Yes…" Arthur said, still frowning at his knight. Gwaine cried out in triumph.

"Then I've got it! Our little sorcerer friend, Grayton, is Lord Dareth's son."

Merlin's reaction was subtle, but Gwen was watching him closely already and didn't miss it. He seemed to sigh in relief, his hands relaxing ever so slightly. He looked up and caught Gwen watching him, but simply gave her one of his signature grins and turned to face Gwaine and Arthur.

"Grayton is Dareth's son. What, _exactly_, gives you that idea?" Arthur asked skeptically, crossing his arms. Gwaine shrugged.

"Common sense. We both know Grayton's a sorcerer, and that Dareth has been using him to get what he wants. And Dareth is doing all this to get revenge for wrongs done upon Dareth's ancestor, also named Grayton. Wouldn't it make sense for daddy to name his son after the man that together they are going to avenge? Not to mention they both have green eyes and dark brown hair, and their ages match up."

Arthur cocked his head, seeming to consider Gwaine's epiphany. Gwen thought it was brilliant.

"Gwaine, that's perfect!" she cried. Gwaine gave her an exaggerated bow, making Gwen giggle.

"Why thank you, my queen," he said, grinning. Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Yes, yes, very good Gwaine. How exactly does this information help us?" the king said dryly. Gwaine shrugged.

"Not sure. But it at least sheds a little light on the mystery."

"Come on," Merlin suddenly said, clapping Gwaine on the back. "We need to get moving. The sooner we capture Lord Dareth, the sooner this is all over."

"Merlin's right," Arthur said. "We should go."

Gwen frowned at the look her husband and best friend shared. Or rather, the one they didn't share. Merlin wouldn't make eye contact with Arthur, choosing instead to look at his shoes and shuffle nervously. Arthur's forehead creased with concern, but he turned away from his servant to face Gwen.

"Arthur," she whispered quickly, "There's still something really wrong about Merlin, isn't there? He acts more normally now, but there's still something wrong, something he won't say. Isn't there?"

Arthur didn't answer. He didn't need to. His eyes told the queen everything she wanted to know. Arthur was seriously worried about his friend, and he was terrified because he had no idea what to do.

The king wrapped his arms around his queen and kissed her. "Stay safe," he told her, handing her the scroll.

"You too," she responded. Then he stepped out of her arms and walked deeper into the forest, Gwaine and Merlin beside him.

Guinevere held the crumpled scroll anxiously. She slowly sank down on the floor and leaned back against a tree trunk, her heart hammering against her chest and her stomach roiling with butterflies. She knew it was their best shot at saving Camelot, and that she'd even been part of coming up with the plan. But for some reason as she watched the three men disappear into the trees, she couldn't shake the feeling they were walking right back into a trap.

* * *

Getting into Dareth's lair was far easier than Arthur had anticipated.

They'd made it all the way through the forest safely, only having to duck and hide once from one of Dareth's search parties. There were no guards at the waterfall entrance, which made the king uneasy.

"Where are all of Dareth's men?" he thought aloud, gripping Exaclibur tightly. Gwaine looked just as perplexed as Arthur. Merlin, however, didn't look too disturbed.

"They're all out searching for us," he said nonchalantly, walking towards the tunnel entrance. He was gripping a sword they'd taken off one of the dead men still around the pool. Merlin hadn't wanted to have it, but Arthur had insisted. There was no way he was sending his servant in there completely unarmed, despite how badly he could handle a sword. That was a disaster just waiting to happen.

"Merlin, wait," Arthur cried, catching up to his servant and stopping him. "I'll go in first. There might be men waiting just inside."

"Well, if that is the case, then I should go first," Gwaine said, sloshing over through the water. "We can't have our king getting himself hurt, now can we?"

Arthur turned and glared at his knight. "In case you'd forgotten, Gwaine, you are injured. I have the best chance of warding off anyone who might attack us-"

"Is that so?" Gwaine interrupted, looking amused at something behind Arthur. "Well, maybe you should remind Merlin that."

Arthur whipped around to see Merlin had vanished into the dark tunnels. He cursed and dashed to the entrance, Gwaine right behind him.

"Merlin!" he whispered harshly. There was no response. "Merlin!"

Still nothing. Arthur tried to reign down his blooming panic and stepped into the tunnel, Excalibur at the ready. Gwaine followed closely behind his king, gripping his sword in anticipation. They took a few steps into the darkness, eyes peeled for any sort of movement, when a light appeared farther down the tunnel.

Arthur stiffened and crouched into a fighting stance. He squinted at the flickering light coming closer toward them. Could it be…?

"Merlin," Gwaine said in relief. The servant grinned at them, holding a lit torch in one hand. "Where'd you go, mate?"

"Thought we could use some light. Don't worry, there's no one down this tunnel. It's almost like the whole place has been abandoned," Merlin said, meeting back up with them.

"You sure about that?" Arthur asked, incredible relief flooding him at seeing Merlin alright. Merlin raised his eyebrows.

"Of course I'm sure. Now come on, I think I remember the way to the throne room," Merlin said simply, turning and heading back the way he'd come. Gwaine and Arthur exchanged looks.

"At least one of us seems to know what he's doing," Gwaine said, a small smile quirking at his lips.

"And that one's an idiot," Arthur replied. "What is this world coming to?"

"You two coming?" Merlin called. Gwaine grinned.

"Be right there, mate!" the knight called, jogging after Merlin. Arthur didn't move.

For some strange reason, a boiling sense of dread was building up within him. Maybe it was because his conversation with Merlin the previous night had just popped unbidden into his mind. He remembered how shaken Merlin had been, the strange things he'd said. He'd been apologizing, saying that all of this was his fault. _Why?_ Why would he think that? And how did Merlin somehow know his way around Lord Dareth's tunnels so well?

"Arthur?" Merlin called, shaking Arthur from his thoughts.

"Scared, princess?" Gwaine teased. Arthur shook himself. It didn't matter. When this was all over, he'd have a serious discussion with his servant. For now, they needed to get in, capture Lord Dareth, and get out. Camelot depended on it.

"Of course not," Arthur shot back, now moving down the tunnel towards his friends. Merlin frowned at him when he caught up with them.

"Is something wrong, Arthur?" he asked. Arthur shook his head.

"No. Let's keep going," the king said, taking the torch from Merlin and marching ahead. Gwaine rolled his eyes and muttered something about scared princesses as he turned to follow Arthur down the tunnel. Merlin kept up with the king and knight, and while both of his companion's faces were turned away his face melted into despair.

* * *

Guinevere was dozing against a tree when the sound of men loudly approaching awoke her with a start.

At first she thought with a thrill that it was Arthur, Merlin, and Gwaine returning already. Had she been asleep that long? But then she realized she didn't recognize the voices, and that there were too many of them to be her friends.

Breathing deeply to try calming her thundering pulse, the queen glanced around for a good place to hide. The men were too far away to see, so she had a few moments before it would be too late. Seeing a toppled tree nearby, Gwen hurried to it. She pushed aside the branches growing along its trunk and scrambled underneath them. Lying on her side, the branches covered her but allowed her to still see through them.

For a moment, Gwen felt a little foolish. The passing men may not actually be some of Lord Dareth's after all. Maybe they were just travelers. But she also knew she couldn't take that risk. It was best that no one knew she was here until her friends returned.

When the men walked into view, Gwen was very glad she'd hidden. They were indeed Dareth's men, black clothed and masked. There were about four of them, sauntering through the forest like they owned the place. Gwen frowned. They didn't exactly appear to be searching for anyone. It was like they were just wandering around in the forest, wasting time, or waiting for something.

"This is ridiculous," one of the men cried when they came near enough for Gwen to make out what they were saying. "What are we supposed to be doing, anyway?"

Gwen tried to breathe more quietly, hoping they wouldn't hear her. Thankfully, none of them seemed to be too concerned about listening for eavesdroppers.

"Don't ask me," replied another one. "I don't care though, it's nice to get out of that dark abyss sometimes. I wish he'd tell us to do this more often."

"You two are idiots," chimed in a third. "Our lord always has a plan. He's not having us just wander out here so we can get fresh air."

"Then what are we doing?" snapped the first man.

"We're making sure King Arthur feels welcomed back," a fourth man said. Gwen froze, listening closer.

"What do you mean?" the second man challenged.

"We all know the Pendragon wouldn't get too far," the third man explained. "But he's smart. He could figure out a way to slip out of our fingers now that he's out of the stronghold. So instead Lord Dareth emptied the stronghold. King Arthur will have no trouble making his way back in."

"Why would King Arthur return there? If I were him, I'd hightail it out of the kingdom!" the second man cried.

"Then you don't understand Arthur Pendragon," the fourth man said. "Lord Dareth does. He knows he'd do anything to save his kingdom. He doesn't care about his own safety."

"Dareth knew he'd try to come back and force him to remove his troops from Camelot. So he had us leave so it's easier for the King to do so," the third man added.

Gwen's heart stopped. Her premonition from earlier was right. They were walking right into a trap, and there was nothing she could do about it.

The men's voices began to fade as they walked away from her hiding place.

"So Lord Dareth is in the stronghold, alone, expecting he can take down Arthur Pendragon and a knight of Camelot all by himself? You saw yourself what they did to the group at the waterfall," the first man said incredulously. Gwen heard a small chuckle.

"No, he's not alone. He's got a few of his personal guards still there. But if they don't make the cut, no worries. He's still got his sorcerer."

Gwen's eyes widened. Grayton was in the stronghold? But… where?

The men's voices were all but gone as the first man responded.

"Ah, yes, of course. I nearly forgot. The one that's…"

Gwen couldn't make out any more, the men were now too far away. Her brain began to work overtime furiously. The one that's what? Was the man talking about Grayton? As far as she knew, he was the only sorcerer with connections to Dareth. But what did Gwen know about who sorcerers worked for? Maybe Dareth had a whole army of sorcerers at his disposal.

Gwen's mind suddenly jumped to when she, Arthur, and Merlin had been in the throne room with the villainous lord. She remembered seeing a prisoner shackled to a wall opposite her, a bag over his head. An idea began to form in her head. When Gwaine had returned from the attack on the knights and Odin's councilors, he had reported how strangely Grayton had acted. How remorseful the sorcerer seemed. Maybe… maybe Grayton had been the prisoner in the throne room. Maybe the sorcerer was being forced to work for Dareth. Dareth had seemed to gloat over the control he had on the sorcerer, saying that he had him on a leash.

But…magic was evil, right? Why would someone who was evil, like a sorcerer, not want to work for an evil man like Lord Dareth? And if their suspicions were correct, and Grayton was Dareth's son, why would any father chain their son to the wall like that? True, Dareth was a horrible person, but even people like him had to have love for their children. Right…?

Gwen shook her head. That didn't matter right now, and all it was doing was confusing her. What mattered was that Arthur, Merlin, and Gwaine were walking into a trap. And there was a sorcerer under the control of Lord Dareth waiting for them.

Pulling herself out from under the tree, Gwen brushed herself off and stared in the direction of the waterfall. She had promised Arthur she'd stay here. But she had to warn him. She had to do something. She knew now exactly how much danger they were in, and it was her duty to find them and warn them.

Silently apologizing to her husband, Guinevere began to run towards the waterfall.

* * *

"Ready for this?" Arthur said to his companions, bracing himself against the wooden door that led to the throne room.

They'd made it all the way to the door without any of Dareth's men appearing, a fact that Arthur found very disturbing. It seemed unlikely that Lord Dareth would leave his lair completely unprotected. Then again, maybe he had just never thought that Arthur would be so stupid as to return here. Whatever the reason, it had certainly made Arthur's job a lot easier.

"Let's teach this lord a lesson," Gwaine grinned. Merlin nodded in agreement, and Arthur pushed himself against the door, throwing it open.

Arthur stumbled into the room, followed by his knight and servant. Sitting on the throne was Lord Dareth, smirking at them. On either side of him stood an armed and masked guard. Arthur recognized one of them as the large man who'd taken him to his cell the previous day. The mystery prisoner was back in his place shackled to the wall, his head still bagged and hanging limply.

"Welcome back, Arthur," Dareth drawled. "It took you long enough."

Arthur glanced at Gwaine and the two shared a nod. They stepped forward in synch, raising their swords at the ready.

"Lord Dareth of the court of Odin," Arthur proclaimed, "you are under arrest for crimes against the kingdoms of Camelot and King Odin."

"Right to business then? How expected. I suppose you are going to try to take me now, then?" Dareth was smiling with an odd, knowing glint in his eyes. A strange tingle went down Arthur's spine and he tried to hold back the urge to shiver.

"Do not try to resist, it will only make things worse for you," Arthur said, trying to reason with the man. He already knew it would do no good.

"Capture the king. Kill the knight," Dareth commanded his men casually. Without warning they both drew their swords and began attacking Arthur and Gwaine.

Arthur was not taken by surprise. He'd been expecting an abrupt attack like this, and when the large man came charging at him he was ready. He stepped aside of the first attack and parried the second, sliding the man's sword away from him and leaving his left side open for attack. Arthur slashed at his left shoulder, but the man was quick and blocked it, using the force of the parry to shove the king back.

Arthur took a step to regain his balance and crouched back into fighting stance. The man charged at his right flank, but Arthur could tell it was a feign blow and blocked towards his left. He slashed at the man's legs, hoping to get him off his feet, but the man saw it coming and jumped back, leaving Excalibur to swing through open air. Not bad, Arthur thought. It was clear Dareth had saved his best men as his personal bodyguards.

Arthur took a moment to glance at Gwaine. The knight seemed to be doing fine, actually laughing out loud during the fight. Arthur saw Gwaine twist suddenly around his opponent and whack him on the head with his hilt, sending the man crashing stunned onto the floor. Gwaine gave the man's head another blow and turned to face Arthur, grinning.

"Want some help, princess?" he called. Arthur blocked an attack aimed at his head and shook his head.

"This one's mine," he shot back. Using the momentum from his opponent's attack at his head to his advantage, Arthur ducked down and let the man stumble forwards, momentarily off balance. Arthur stepped off to the side and hit the man securely on the head with Excalibur's hilt. The man tumbled the rest of the way to the floor, unconscious.

A slow clap filled the room. Arthur looked up to see Lord Dareth standing by his throne, looking amused.

"Very impressive, very impressive indeed. You two truly are remarkable swordsmen," he said. Arthur stepped closer to him and pointed Excalibur at his throat, Gwaine moving to stand right beside him.

"You have no more guards, Lord Dareth. You will come with us, and you will command your men to leave Camelot and restore me as the rightful king."

Dareth's face filled with a strange, mad glee. "You think you've won. You have no idea." He began to move forwards, his face filled with excitement. "You say I have no more guards? Well, you are wrong. I have yet to show you my most powerful guard yet."

"Stop bluffing," Gwaine snapped. "You've got nothing left."

"I've got everything left," Lord Dareth whispered, the look in his eyes sending shivers down Arthur's spine.

"Lord Dareth-"

Suddenly Arthur was swept off his feet by a powerful blast of energy, Excalibur falling from his hand with a clatter as he was tossed across the room. He hit the wall with a thud, Gwaine landing on the ground beside him. Arthur shook his head, dazed. Blinking, he tried to make out what was going on. He thought he could vaguely see two figures standing a few yards away, but everything was too blurry to make out.

When his eyes finally came back into focus, he suddenly wished things were still fuzzy. Arthur was so shocked, so betrayed, he could barely comprehend the scene before him.

Merlin was standing beside Lord Dareth, his hand outstretched. His eyes were fading back to their usual blue, having just been glowing a fiery gold.

Magic.

* * *

**Review please! **


	12. Painful Revelations

**Yay! An update to save you from the cliffhanger! Huzzah!**

**Technically, it's against my personal rules for me to be posting this, since I haven't finished writing chapter 14, but I was DYING to get this one to you all... for reasons you soon shall see! *evil smile***

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 12: Painful Revelations

Guinevere hurried forward down the tunnel, gripping a dead man's sword firmly in her slightly shaking hand.

She hadn't had any trouble getting back to the stronghold, but considering what she'd overheard she hadn't expected to. Her biggest fear was that she wouldn't be able to get to Arthur, Merlin, and Gwaine in time and that Dareth would have his sorcerer already upon them. That, and she was terrified of getting lost in these tunnels. Everything looked the same, and with all the twists and turns she couldn't tell if she were progressing or just moving in circles. It truly was a maze.

Gwen had no idea how Merlin had been able to navigate the tunnels so easily on their way out. She knew he was clever, far more intelligent than people often seemed to give him credit for, but this would take more than just being smart and remembering the paths. There were no marks, no distinct rock formations, no signs to give any sort of clue as to which way led to the throne room. Only dark, damp, cold rock.

After wandering around in the tunnels for what felt like hours, Gwen was nearly on the verge of tears. She knew she had to find Arthur, and soon. If she didn't, it might be too late. Dark, horrible thoughts began to enter her mind. What if she was too late and her friends had all been killed already? What if she were wrong and they'd already defeated Lord Dareth, but they never found her again because she'd gotten lost in the labyrinth of tunnels in the stronghold? What if they were lost in here too, wandering around in the darkness?

Gwen stopped, her heart hammering against her chest in fear. She sank down onto her knees in grief, barely holding back a sob. She'd never make it out of this darkness. She'd be trapped down here forever, constantly wandering, trying to find the light that would never come. She would die down here, and maybe Arthur, Gwaine, and Merlin would too.

Just as that thought began to fill her mind and she was about sink into despair and give up hope, Gwen felt a strange warmth rush through her. It felt familiar, like an old friend she hadn't seen for a while. Then a strange, blue light began to fill the tunnel. Gwen blinked and raised her head, squinting to get a better view.

She couldn't believe her eyes. Floating down the tunnel toward her was a floating ball of blue light, shimmering and glowing in the darkness like a warm beacon. It was magic. It was beautiful.

Slowly, cautiously, the queen got to her feet. Never before had magic appeared so gentle to her, so welcoming. A small warning rang in the back of her mind that she should not trust it, that magic was evil and always used to deceive, but she felt so drawn to it. She couldn't quite place it, but there was something so safe, so irrevocably good and kind and familiar about this magic that she had to get closer to it.

Gwen took one careful step forwards, gripping her sword but knowing she wouldn't be needing it. Her eyes remained glued to the light as she approached it. She was almost close enough to touch it when it moved down the tunnel a short ways, and then then stopped. It bobbed up and down almost playfully, like it was calling to her to keep coming. Gwen frowned and again came closer to it, only to have it shoot away once more. A small smile began to grow on the queen's face. She understood now. It was guiding her through the tunnels. It would take her to where she needed to be. It would take her to Arthur.

* * *

Arthur couldn't move. He couldn't speak. Nothing made any sense. Everything seemed to slow down, like the air around them had transformed into thick molasses. He could see Merlin standing by Lord Dareth, remnants of gold still lingering in his eyes. He could see it, but he couldn't comprehend it. Only one thought could make it through the warped, jumbled mess that was his mind.

_Not Merlin too._

Another friend was lost. Another loved, trusted ally had turned on him. Arthur thought he'd been betrayed enough times that by now that it would no longer hurt, but this time it was Merlin. The very last person he ever would have suspected. And not only had Merlin turned on him to work for Lord Dareth, but he had _magic._

Like Morgana.

It hurt so much the king could scarcely breathe.

Lord Dareth was watching the scene with something akin to delight, drinking in the expressions on Arthur and Gwaine's faces. He glanced at Merlin with a joyful smirk. "Very good, _Merlin_."

Merlin's eyes were wide and full of unshed tears. "Please," he said quietly. "Let that be all. Please."

"Oh, of course, since you said please, I must oblige," Dareth mocked. "When will you learn that I am the one in control here, boy? Stop sniveling like a child. It makes you look weak."

Merlin was shaking. Or maybe it just looked that way because Arthur was pretty sure he was shaking too. He tried to straighten himself up, but he found he couldn't move. He was frozen in place sitting against the wall. It appeared only his head was free to move, because the king was able to look to his left to check on Gwaine. Besides the obvious shock, the knight seemed unharmed. His face had turned completely white, his eyes wide in disbelief.

"Merlin… how…" Gwaine stammered. Arthur couldn't form words. His mouth felt like it was filled with cotton.

"How long has he been working for me? Oh, quite a while now. Isn't that right, sorcerer?" Dareth said, smirking at Merlin. "Ever since he was a child. I've been preparing him for this moment for years."

Arthur was sure he wasn't hearing this right. Merlin had worked for Lord Dareth ever since he was a child? He'd been planning this betrayal since before he even met Arthur? That was impossible. There was no way Merlin would do that to him.

But he had magic. He was a sorcerer. And he was siding with Lord Dareth. Wasn't that proof enough that Merlin wasn't the playful, loyal, wise, wonderful friend Arthur had thought he was?

Half of Arthur wanted to jump to his feet, scream in rage, and attack someone, most likely Lord Dareth. The other half wanted to curl into ball and sob. Why did everyone he cared for in his life have to have some sort of secret? Every single person he had come to trust had turned on him, hurt him. Even Guinevere had betrayed him once, with Lancelot. And though he had completely forgiven her and they had moved on from that point, there was still a small corner of his heart that kept him from entirely trusting her again.

And now the one person he had thought he could rely on at all times had just betrayed him.

"Neither of you had any idea this was coming, did you?" Dareth gloated, walking closer to Arthur. "Your faces tell me everything. Neither of you could have possibly predicted this."

Dareth glanced behind him at Merlin. The sorcerer hadn't moved. He was staring at Arthur, his eyes pleading for forgiveness. But the king's heart hurt too much to acknowledge his former friend.

"You must now realize all that Merlin has done for me," the lord said. "He informed me of where Odin's councilors and your knights would be, so we could plan a proper ambush. He also opened the gates of Camelot and gave me a signal that night, so I could march in and take the city with ease."

Arthur felt his heart sinking lower and lower with each word the lord spoke. He couldn't believe it. He wouldn't. The knights had been Merlin's friends, and Merlin would never have wanted Odin's councilors killed. Nor would he have allowed for Camelot to be taken like that.

"You did well, my little sorcerer," Dareth continued, grinning at Merlin. "Your deception of Camelot could not have gone smoother."

"You gave me little choice," Merlin muttered. His face was filled with sorrow. His eyes still sought out Arthur's, and for a split second the king allowed them to meet.

"I am so sorry, sire," Merlin said quietly. Dareth laughed.

"Oh, he feels guilty! What a shame. You always were too soft-hearted," Dareth laughed. "But don't worry my boy, that will change in time."

"Do not call me your boy," Merlin snapped back, his voice suddenly ice cold. Dareth's eyes narrowed.

"No need to get touchy, little sorcerer. Things will be much happier for you if you are friendly with me, you know. But look how rude we are! We're talking over our guests."

The lord walked directly up to Arthur and knelt down in front of him. "Look at me, King Arthur," he commanded.

Arthur didn't want to do what Dareth said. He wanted to close his eyes tightly and stubbornly refuse to do anything the evil man told him to. But he was weary. The strength and invincibility he had been feeling only a few minutes earlier had completely disappeared. Slowly, he raised his eyes to meet Lord Dareth's.

"Why?" he managed to choke out. He tried his best not to sound as broken as he was feeling.

"I want your throne," Dareth said simply. "I already told you this. With Camelot under my control, I can use its armies to ransack Odin and take over there as well. I shall control two kingdoms, and perhaps I can progress from there and control all of Albion. But don't you worry, your kingdom will not fall. Camelot will stay as strong and mighty as always."

"No," Arthur said. "I meant… Why… him?" He couldn't allow himself to get his ex-friend's name out.

Dareth grinned. "Why Merlin? For this reason right here. It is so much easier to imprison a broken man. I am actually quite grateful things turned out the way they did. If you hadn't escaped earlier, I may not have had such a brilliant moment to reveal my sorcerer to you. I did consider it earlier, last time we were talking together in this room. But I decided not to, to allow you to think that Merlin was still your loyal servant. When in truth, he has always been mine."

Dareth backed away from Arthur and walked into the center of the room, looking around at its grandeur with a proud look on his face. "I owe a lot to him, you know. He created this hidden stronghold for me with his magic. What would have taken months, perhaps years for men to create was carved out in a few mere seconds by this young man here. And without him, I never would have made to this part in my plan."

He turned back to face his captives. "And speaking of my plan, I need to finish it. Of course, it wasn't originally in the plan to kill any of Camelot's knights, but since this one knows everything now, I suppose he'll have to die as well," Dareth said casually, glancing at Gwaine. The knight was still too in shock to do anything but stare blankly.

Vaguely Arthur felt a ripple of dread shoot through him, but he couldn't bring himself to vocalize it. Nothing seemed to matter anymore. He'd been defeated. Camelot was taken. Merlin was a sorcerer and a traitor. Everything was so wrong, maybe it would be a mercy for Gwaine to be killed.

"Merlin," Dareth called, stepping back from Arthur and Gwaine. "Kill Sir Gwaine."

Merlin began to raise his hand, his eyes focused on the helpless knight. His entire body was shaking. "You said I wouldn't have to. You said I was done killing," he said weakly, his voice coming out in small squeak.

"And since when have I kept my promises to you, boy?" Dareth drawled. "Kill him already!"

Arthur watched in distant horror as Merlin opened his mouth and gold began to fill his eyes, Gwaine right in their sights.

* * *

Guinevere caught up to the blue light just as it turned a sharp left corner, gasping slightly for breath. Once she'd realized what it was doing, the light began to hold up a very rapid pace, as if it were trying to hurry her to the destination. The queen had been almost running to keep up with it, and holding a full-sized sword meant for a man twice her size hadn't helped at all.

Panting, Gwen rounded the corner, her eyes already peeled for where the light would appear next. When she'd turned into the new tunnel, to her surprise, the light had disappeared. But in full view at the end of the dark corridor was a large wooden door with torches flanking it.

Gwen hurried towards it, a smile rising unbidden to her face. At closer inspection, she saw it wasn't the same door they'd escaped out of. It was a bit smaller, and wood was a different shade. It must have been one of the doors along the sides of the throne room.

She pressed her ear up against the door, trying to hear what was going on inside. She could hear a lot of talking, mainly Lord Dareth, which confused her a bit. She had assumed Arthur, Gwaine, and Merlin would have made it there by then, and if that was the case why would Lord Dareth be talking?

Maybe they were stuck wandering around in the tunnels, she thought. But that seemed unlikely. Merlin had clearly known his way around, they wouldn't have gotten lost. But why weren't they in the room with Lord Dareth by now? And why would the blue light have led her here if Arthur wasn't here? She needed to warn him, after all.

Then she made out Merlin's familiar voice. At first her heart leapt, but then it began to sink when she heard the tone of his voice. Something bad was going on. Something really, really bad. Never before had she heard Merlin sound so afraid. Merlin was one of the bravest men she knew. What could possibly have happened that drive him to such fear?

Making a sudden, impulsive decision, Gwen slowly opened the door and peeked through. To her relief, Lord Dareth was facing away from her. Arthur and Gwaine were sitting on the ground against the wall opposite her, both white-faced and horrified. Merlin was standing beside Lord Dareth.

Wait. Merlin was standing beside Lord Dareth?

Silently slipping into the room, Gwen closed the door as quietly as she could behind her. She crouched in the shadows by the door, trying to remain hidden for as long as she could. What was going on?

She nearly jumped when she suddenly realized she wasn't alone beside that door. The hooded captive she had noticed last time they were in the throne room was shackled to the wall right beside her. He seemed to be awake but groggy, struggling against the shackles on his wrists weakly. Gwen stared at him. Could he be Grayton, Lord Dareth's son, as she had suspected? But if he was Grayton, that meant he was a sorcerer. How could a sorcerer be held by such simple shackles?

She was tempted to reach forwards and remove the hood and find out, but then she remembered why she was there. She crawled a little ways away from the prisoner, still sticking to the shadows and listening to what was being said.

Never before had Gwen felt so horrified.

She listened in silent disbelief as Dareth called Merlin his sorcerer, and bragged about how he had used him to kill Odin's men, injure Camelot's knights, and take over the city. She heard Arthur's weak and heartbroken plea for an explanation, his eyes filled with so much grief and despair she almost ran out of her hiding place and threw her arms around him. She didn't want to believe it. Didn't want to accept what everyone kept saying, that Merlin was a sorcerer and a traitor, that he worked for Lord Dareth.

But the evidence was irrefutable. Why else would Merlin be standing there beside that villain, instead of beside Arthur like he always was? And why else would Arthur and Gwaine be looking so lost and betrayed? This sort of thing couldn't be faked.

Gwen felt hot tears of betrayal sting her eyes. How could Merlin do this to them? After all these years, all this time, did it mean nothing? Was he even really her friend? Had he ever been? So many questions rocked the queen's mind she felt like she was going to explode.

And Arthur. Oh, Arthur. He loved Merlin like a brother, and Gwen knew he had come to rely on Merlin's steadiness and friendship after all the storms the two had been through together. If Morgana and Agravaine's betrayals hadn't pushed Arthur to the edge, this one certainly would.

"Merlin," Gwen heard Lord Dareth say, "Kill Sir Gwaine."

Gwen's hands shook in a rare display of fury. The gentle queen barely ever even raised her temper, but this was beyond anything she'd ever felt before. It was all Lord Dareth's fault. All of it. The capture of Camelot, the betrayal of Merlin, the great pit of despair her husband was wallowing in. And he was not going to kill anyone on her watch, much less a brave and good, if a bit annoying, knight of Camelot.

Taking advantage of Dareth's and Merlin's final words of conversation, Gwen crept silently up behind Lord Dareth, her sword drawn. Right as she saw Merlin's hand rise and his eyes begin to glow gold- her skin tingling uneasily at her first sight of Merlin using magic- she wrapped her sword around Dareth's neck and pulled him close to her, gripping him as tightly as she could.

"Don't kill him!" she hissed venomously, the sharp blade of the sword coming dangerously close to Lord Dareth's neck. Dareth's eyes bulged in surprise and he gasped out.

"Merlin! Stop!"

The sorcerer lowered his hand instantly, looking strangely relieved. He turned to face Dareth, and his eyes widened in shock and something almost like amusement when he saw Gwen. Arthur's eyes snapped to the commotion the same time Gwaine's did, and both king and knight had similar mixed expressions of shock, relief, and joy.

"Guinevere!" Arthur choked out. Gwaine flashed her a small, half-hearted grin, which she supposed was the best he could rally up given the circumstances.

"Hello, Arthur," she said back, meeting his eyes. She was relieved when she was able to determine that he was unharmed. At least, physically. Gwaine was the same, besides his obviously still injured wrist.

"Queen Guinevere," Lord Dareth said, rolling his eyes back to try to look at her. "I thought you might show up."

"Release them," she snapped, noticing how Arthur and Gwaine appeared to be frozen against the wall. Her eyes flashed quietly over Merlin for a moment, but it hurt too much to linger on him.

Lord Dareth grimaced angrily. "Merlin, release the king and knight."

Merlin faced Arthur and Gwaine and whispered some strange words, his eyes glowing gold. Gwen didn't miss how Arthur flinched when the alien words came pouring out of Merlin's mouth. It was just so, so wrong.

As Arthur and Gwaine scrambled to their feet, Gwen turned her attention back to her hostage. "Now Lord Dareth, you are going to allow us to leave. You will not send… your sorcerer after us. Tell him so. And you'd better not change your mind after I release you. Do you understand?" she said, trying to sound threatening.

Lord Dareth narrowed his eyes. "By all means, my queen. Merlin, do not disrupt King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, and Sir Gwaine's escape from my strong hold. Allow them to leave." Gwen tightened her grip.

"And?" she prompted.

"And no matter what I tell you after this, do not disobey that order."

Merlin looked like a massive burden had been lifted from his shoulders. He almost smiled as he nodded in assent.

Tearing her eyes away from her traitorous friend, Gwen slowly released her hold on Lord Dareth. As soon as she was free of him, she dashed over to Arthur, who grabbed her and pulled her close into an embrace. Only when she was this close to him did she realize he was trembling. Gwaine stepped in beside the king and put a hand on his shoulder.

"Come on," the knight prompted. "Let's go." He sounded terrible, his eyes downcast and sad.

Arthur reacted slowly, pulling himself out of Gwen's arms and turning away from Merlin and Lord Dareth to face the large wooden door leading out. Together they walked towards the exit, all three shaky and shell-shocked from Merlin's betrayal. As they opened the door, Gwen felt a horrible, sinking depression. She knew that nothing would ever be the same again.

* * *

"I don't think any of you really want to be doing that," Arthur heard Lord Dareth say casually as they were about to step out of the open door. The king stopped and turned to face the villainous lord. He was barely able to manage a glance at Merlin without breaking into angry tears. And if there was one thing Arthur didn't want to do right here, it was cry. He knew the tears would come, but he wanted it to be later, when he was away from this evil place with its evil men.

"And why, Lord Dareth, do we not want to be leaving?" he asked, his usually strong and commanding voice weak and brittle.

A smile ran up Lord Dareth's face that would have probably given Arthur shivers if he wasn't already so numb. "If you leave, I will kill Merlin."

Merlin's eyes widened, but he didn't look surprised. He turned his gaze to the floor. Arthur hesitated.

"Arthur, come on," Gwen said gently in his ear, gripping his hand and trying to pull him down the tunnel. Arthur didn't move.

"You don't want to see your beloved manservant and friend dead, do you?" Dareth added, a knowing glint shining in his eyes.

Arthur felt something finally give inside him. A truth that he had been trying to hold out on, but was inevitably going to surface.

"He already is," the heartbroken king said simply, and then he turned down the tunnel and began to walk down it into the darkness, Gwen holding his hand and Gwaine walking shakily beside him. None of them could find words.

Behind them, Arthur thought he could vaguely hear Dareth commanding Mer- his sorcerer to do something, but he didn't care what. It didn't matter anyway.

"Arthur!"

It was Merlin. But there was something different about his voice, something that made if feel more familiar, more real. He sounded exhausted, weak, and croaky. But Arthur didn't turn around. He didn't want to fall for a stupid, twisted trick.

"Oh, I don't think poor Merlin's dead yet. He's still got a lot left in him. Why don't you turn around and take a look?" Dareth's voice came taunting behind him.

Gwaine stopped. His breathing was hard and heavy. "Don't Gwaine," Arthur murmured to him. "Don't do it to yourself."

As always, Gwaine didn't listen. He turned around- and immediately gasped.

"Merlin!" He exclaimed loudly. He grabbed Arthur's arm suddenly and yanked him around, Gwen turning with him.

"Gwaine, we can't-" Arthur started, ready to go into a horrible speech he really didn't want to say.

"Arthur, look! Just look!" Gwaine cried, frantic. Sighing, Arthur looked up. Guinevere gasped, horrified.

And for the second time that day, King Arthur Pendragon was so shocked he felt the breath get knocked out of him. This was it, the missing piece of the puzzle. In that moment everything made perfect sense. And yet it also made no sense at all.

There was Merlin, standing beside Lord Dareth in the doorway, silent and sad.

But there was also Merlin, wearing nothing but rags, his hands bound behind his back, kneeling at Lord Dareth's feet while the villainous lord held a knife to his throat.

* * *

**Aha! The truth at last! I know a lot of you guessed this was coming- my hat's off to you, clever ones! **

**I'll try to update soon, I know how evil this cliffhanger is, but things are going to get SUPER busy for me... I'm starting college next week... so I don't know for sure when I'll be able to update. **

**Thanks for reading! Please review! :D**


	13. What Happened Before Part One

**I AM SO SORRY FOR THE WAIT! **

**Okay, got that out. I know the last cliffhanger was a killer, I'm sorry. But I'm now in my dorm at college, all settled in and everything, and I managed to get a bit of writing done too. Hooray! :) So here's chapter 13! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 13: What Happened Before Part One

_Two weeks previously…_

Merlin woke with a start, a strange tingle of magic shooting down his spine.

At first he had no idea why he had jerked awake. He didn't hear any ancient, echoing voices in his mind, so Kilgarrah wasn't trying to contact him. He was pretty sure Arthur was safe since he hadn't detected any dangers that night before going to bed. Of course, it was always possible something could slip under his radar, but considering the number of times he'd saved the prat's life, Merlin had grown somewhat in tune with when the king was threatened. Especially since they were 'two sides of the same coin', like Kilgarrah was always telling him.

No, whatever had woken him didn't have anything to do with Arthur. Straining his ears, Merlin concentrated. His magic tingled just beneath the surface, ready for use.

When nothing happened, Merlin almost felt foolish. Maybe he'd just been getting too paranoid. Nothing dangerous had happened to Camelot in over a year. Of course, knowing Morgana, that streak wouldn't last forever, but he could hope that it would continue a bit longer.

"Merlin? Is that you?" Merlin heard Gaius call.

How did the old physician _do_ that? Merlin thought Gaius must have magic sensors that alerted him to whatever his ward was doing. He always seemed to know when Merlin was up to something, and now he could even tell when the warlock was awake. Merlin would have to be more careful next time he wanted to sneak out without his mentor knowing.

Merlin was about to respond when Gaius continued. "Who's there? Show yourself," he said. Merlin frowned. Gaius was _not_ talking to him then. Was someone down there with him?

Then Merlin heard a muffled gasp of surprise, followed by a small crash. The strange tingle that he had felt when he woke started up again. Something was wrong in the physician's chambers. Climbing out of bed, Merlin hurried to his door and swung it open. His eyes widened in horror.

Two dark cloaked men were standing in the middle of Gaius's chambers. Gaius himself was slumping to the ground, his eyes barely open. Merlin watched as his mentor looked at him beneath lowering eyelids before shutting them completely and collapsing into unconsciousness.

Merlin wanted nothing more than to run to Gaius and make sure he was alright, but instead he swallowed hard and stayed put. He trained his eyes on the two intruders. Having had to confront many dangerous people and creatures over the years, Merlin had learned it was best to keep control of his emotions, especially when it might give his enemy an advantage. He needed to stay calm and talk to these men, find out why they were here and what they were doing, before he did anything else. Besides, other than being unconscious, Gaius appeared unharmed.

"Who are you?" Merlin challenged. "What are you doing here?"

"Are you Merlin?" the smaller of the two asked. Merlin blinked, surprised. These intruders knew who he was? Why? Did they want to talk to him?

Merlin debated lying and telling them he wasn't, but he decided it wouldn't help him at all. Obviously they knew who he was, since they knew where he lived. They were probably just making sure.

"Yes," he said carefully, watching the intruders with caution. "Now answer my question. Who are you and what do you want?"

They didn't seem to hear him. The smaller man looked at the larger one, as if asking him what to do next. The large man chuckled.

"Don't look at me, little sorcerer," he said, as if he were amused. "Your father gave you very distinct instructions."

Merlin stiffened, but at the same time relaxed a bit. The smaller man was a sorcerer? Why was he here, then? Was he possibly a druid, wanting to talk to Emrys? The warlock wasn't sure if he should be more or less wary of this information. He felt his magic begin to pulse at his fingertips, ready for use.

The smaller man stepped forward. He pulled the hood of his cloak down and Merlin's tension instantly relaxed a bit. He was a very young man, only just barely leaving boyhood. He couldn't have been more than twenty years old. His eyes were piercing green and he had dark brown hair. But despite his youth, the sorcerer's eyes were filled with such deep despair Merlin almost had to catch his breath. A strange wave of pity swept over him as he looked at the boy. Something told him this sorcerer had been through many terrible things in his short life, and Merlin knew what that felt like.

Just as Merlin was about to give him a small smile to reassure him and extend his hand in greeting, the sorcerer's eyes flashed gold and he was rocked off his feet, landing hard on the ground. Merlin gasped in surprise and pain, stars dancing in his vision. The world looked a bit fuzzy.

As his eyes came back into focus, Merlin struggled to sit up and figure out what was going on. He tried to hold back the strange feeling of betrayal he felt. It was silly, he'd only known the sorcerer for a few seconds and before that the boy had broken into his chambers and knocked out Gaius. But there was something about this young magician, something they seemed to share that made him trust and feel sympathy for him instantly.

Until he'd knocked him off his feet, of course.

"He's still awake," the larger man growled, pulling something long from a pack he had on his back. "We need him unconscious, boy. Do it right."

The young sorcerer gave the man a resentful look before turning back to Merlin, his hand raised. Merlin stared at the scene, putting the pieces together in a moment of realization. They'd made sure he was Merlin before attacking. They needed him unconscious. The large man was carrying rope.

These two had come to kidnap him. Why, he had no idea. Maybe they knew he was King Arthur's manservant and wanted information about the king or the kingdom. Maybe they worked for Morgana and she wanted to get revenge by killing him herself. Or maybe these were members of a renegade druid clan, come to get revenge on Emrys for not helping them during the dark times of the Great Purge. Merlin had no idea. But he did know that he was not going to allow himself to be taken.

The sorcerer had barely spoken the words that would put Merlin to sleep before the warlock jumped to his feet and tackled the boy. Both the sorcerer and the large man were shocked into freezing for a moment, and Merlin took advantage of their surprise. He enchanted one of Gaius's taller bookshelves to come crashing down behind the large man, the top shelf slamming into his head as it went down.

The man let out a grunt of pain as the shelf hit him, knocking him to the floor. The blow was strong enough to send him into unconsciousness, the rest of the bookshelf and all its contents falling on him and pinning him to the floor. That just left the sorcerer.

The boy had struggled his way out from under Merlin and was now standing at the ready, his hand held out aggressively. He didn't seem to care that his companion had just been taken down.

"Why are you doing this?" Merlin called to him, hoping he could maybe talk to the boy into leaving him alone. Despite the fact he was attacking him, Merlin still felt a strange kinship with the young sorcerer.

"I must do as my father commands," was all the boy said. He shot another sleeping spell at Merlin, but the warlock dived out of the way. His hands itched with the desire to use magic, but he held himself back. Unless things got really dire, he couldn't afford to reveal his magic to this boy. Who knew who he might tell?

"Please, just tell me. You don't have to do this," Merlin pleaded, dodging another spell cast towards him. When he looked at the boy's face again, he was surprised to see him crying.

"But I do. I do have to. I have no choice," he said quietly. Merlin glanced to his side, hoping to find something he could use to knock out the boy without him realizing Merlin was using magic. Kind of difficult to do, considering he was busy avoiding sleeping spells at the moment. The spells were making a mess of Gaius's chambers, knocking jars, bottles, and books off carefully organized shelves. Gaius's cot had been blasted to a far corner and the chairs and benches were scattered throughout the room.

He dashed beneath the table, the one as yet untouched piece of furniture in the room, and concentrated on the shelf behind the sorcerer, silently apologizing to Gaius for making such a mess of his quarters. No doubt he'd be stuck cleaning this all up later. With a flash of gold, he willed the shelf to fall towards the boy, hoping he wouldn't see it before it struck him.

No such luck. The boy was more in tune with his surroundings than the large man, and he whirled around and stopped the falling case before the top shelf made contact with this skull. He stepped aside and gently lowered it to the ground, and then turned to look at Merlin with wide eyes.

"You did that," the boy said. "That shelf didn't fall on its own. It couldn't have. And I felt magic."

Merlin cursed quietly. Of course_ this_ sorcerer had to be harder to fool than every other enemy he'd ever faced. Even Arthur, who he'd probably done the most discrete magic around, hadn't realized how strange it was for sticks to suddenly fall from trees and knock out his opponents on a daily basis. But comparing the King of Obliviousness to a fellow sorcerer did seem a bit harsh. Arthur was a knight, after all, and everyone knows they're a bit thick.

"You have magic," the boy continued, still staring at Merlin with shocked eyes. Merlin couldn't keep back the small shiver that ran down his back at those words. The last time someone had spoken them to him hadn't turned out so well.

Trying to shake back the idea that he might have to kill the young sorcerer now, Merlin pulled himself out from under the table and faced the boy. He saw the sorcerer shrink back a bit at the new hard look in Merlin's eyes.

"Yes. I do. I know what it's like to be like you, my friend. Please, stop this. Leave now with your companion, I'll fix all this up, and we can act like this never happened," the warlock said, hoping he sounded convincing.

The boy was shaking. He shook his head. "I can't. I must do as my lord commands. My father told me to take you. And so I must."

Merlin felt dread drip into his stomach. He knew what he had to do now. Steeling himself, he firmly raised his hand, his choice spell about to burst from his lips, when he suddenly stumbled to the floor. Something tight had wrapped itself around his ankles. On closer observation, Merlin saw it was a part of the rope the larger man had pulled from his pack. The sorcerer must have enchanted it to move toward him as he was talking.

The rope finished at his ankles and tied itself off, and the rest moved up towards his hands. Merlin sighed. It was normal rope, no enchantments or anything. It would be easy to remove. He quickly thought of a spell to undo knots and was about to free his feet when he felt a wave of cold wash over him.

Merlin looked up at the boy in shock. The sleeping spell. He'd finally landed it on him. The boy was smart, he must've known the ropes wouldn't hold Merlin for long, but he didn't need long. Only long enough to distract him so he could put him to sleep.

Merlin felt his magic fight against the spell cast on him, holding it at bay for a few precious moments. He knew he didn't have much time. He struggled to find the right words to say to release him from the ropes, but his mind was turning groggy. He couldn't find the spell he'd meant to say, like it had just slipped into the dark recesses of his mind.

The rope had finished binding Merlin's hands together behind his back. The warlock twisted weakly against the ropes, trying desperately to break free. His eyes met the young sorcerer's, who was looking down at him in pity and guilt.

"Please forgive me," the boy said sadly, and Merlin could tell that he meant it.

"Who…are...you?" Merlin managed, barely able to keep his eyes open.

"My father calls me Grayton," he said, sounding genuinely depressed. Merlin would have liked to ask him who his father was and why he was being kidnapped, but the sleep spell finally made its way past Merlin's borders and slunk into his mind.

Just before he passed out, he heard Grayton murmur one last thing to him. "Don't worry Merlin. Your secret is safe with me."

* * *

When Merlin woke up, he at first wasn't sure he'd even opened his eyes.

He was completely surrounded by darkness. He couldn't tell the difference from when his eyelids were closed to when they were open. He did notice how cold it was here however, and that it was slightly damp. His clothes were wet, but not soaking, which perhaps was why he was so cold.

His hands and feet were still bound with the rope. Merlin tugged at them a bit, hoping he could wriggle out of them without magic, but they were too tight. His hands had gone completely numb, which Merlin knew wasn't good. He wondered how long he had been there, but with the darkness it was impossible to tell what time of day it was.

Merlin desperately wanted to use his magic to break free of the ropes, give him a bit of light, and possibly warm him up some. Then he could escape from… wherever he was. But something held him back. He didn't want to risk revealing his magic to anyone else. Then again, now that Grayton knew, it might not be a secret anymore.

But the young sorcerer had told him he'd keep his secret. Hadn't he? But could he trust the boy? Grayton had, after all, kidnapped him. But there was still something about the boy, some sort of helplessness and weariness about him, coupled with the guilt he'd seen in his eyes before he'd passed out, that made him feel that he could somehow trust the boy. He still couldn't explain why.

Merlin waited a bit longer, still debating whether or not he should use magic and escape, before the horrible numbness in his hands and the freezing temperature finally got to him. He _had_ to get his hands free, at least. They were killing him.

Concentrating, Merlin recalled the spell that had escaped him back in Gaius's chambers, and he whispered it quietly at the ropes. Nothing happened. Merlin frowned, a cold feeling filling his chest. He tried it again. Still nothing.

Merlin took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. The only other time he'd had trouble using his magic for a simple spell like this had been when the dorocha had been unleashed about two years ago. He strained his ears, praying he didn't hear the horrible screams of the undead. After a few tense minutes, Merlin relaxed. The dorocha were still gone. That wasn't the problem here.

Merlin tried another spell on the ropes, one that was a bit more difficult. Still nothing. Panic began to grip his heart. Why wasn't his magic working?!

Frantic, Merlin called out another spell that summoned light. To his great joy, he felt the usual rush of warmth and saw a floating blue orb of light appear in the room. Merlin sighed with relief. So his magic did still work. He frowned down at the ropes around his feet. They seemed to be the problem. Grayton must have enchanted them to be invulnerable to magic, but that didn't mean his abilities had been blocked. He just couldn't get untied.

Now that the room was lit, Merlin was able to get a look at his surroundings. It wasn't much. He was lying on the floor of a small cell, a door with a tiny barred window just ahead of him. At least there weren't any chains on the walls. Merlin didn't like chains. They brought back bad mixed memories of serkets, hovels, and Morgana. None of which Merlin liked to dwell on.

Whispering a spell to dispel cold, Merlin allowed himself a small smile as the chill in his bones was chased away by a warm rush of magic. He managed to push himself up so he was leaning against the wall and took a deep breath. He needed to figure all this out. Why he was kidnapped, where he was, what his captors were going to do with him, and how he could escape.

A small smirk flashed across his face as he thought about what must be occurring back at Camelot right now. He guessed it had been several hours since he'd been taken, so it was probably close to daybreak. Everyone would have been alerted to his disappearance by now, he was sure. Arthur had probably gotten up late without anyone to wake him and had stormed down to Gaius's chambers, ready to yell at his servant for being so lazy, only to find the room in shambles, Gaius unconscious, and Merlin missing. He would've alerted the knights, who would've shot out to search for clues without a second thought. Especially Gwaine. Gwen would be trying to comfort Gaius, who would be sick with worry. And Arthur…

Honestly, Merlin wasn't sure what Arthur would be doing. Would he be pacing his room, worried and distracted from his kingly duties? Would he be with the knights, looking for clues and then riding out to rescue him? Or would he simply continue on with his day and call George in as a replacement?

Merlin was pretty sure Arthur wouldn't do the latter. He knew they were friends. Arthur had even told him so a few times. But part of him worried about the king taking all this too hard. What if this was supposed to be a trap for Arthur, and he was the bait? He didn't want the king getting into danger because of him.

Merlin's thoughts were disturbed when he heard heavy footsteps coming from outside his cell door. He quickly extinguished the light and watched his door apprehensively as the steps came closer. A moment later a flickering torch came into view through the barred window, and then the door swung open. Two dark-clothed men stood in the doorway, one holding the torch. They both had cloth wrapped around their faces like masks.

The man not holding the torch stepped towards Merlin with a knife. Merlin watched the weapon warily, stiffening a bit as the man came close, but all he did was slice through the ropes on his ankles. He gripped Merlin's forearm and yanked him to his feet. The warlock staggered a bit, stumbling into the man as he lost his balance. The man tightened his grip on his arm and pushed him forwards, toward the door.

"Walk, boy," he said. Merlin decided to do what he said. That knife did not look friendly.

The men led Merlin through some long, twisting dark tunnels. He lost track of how many turns they'd taken after a while. Everything was so dark, even with the little light provided by the torch. The warlock considered using magic to blast the men back and knock them out so he could escape, maybe use the knife to cut through the ropes around his wrists, but he decided not to. He had no idea how to get out of this labyrinth, and even if he managed to get out he still had no idea where he was. Besides, he was a bit morbidly curious about what he was being led to.

After a while, they turned into a tunnel that led to a large wooden door flanked by torches. Merlin was intrigued by the door. Who would put something like that in a place like this? It was very finely made, and he recognized the wood as an expensive rarity by its dark hues. Whoever put this here was very rich.

The men knocked on the door when they got to it, then the door opened for them and they stepped inside, pushing Merlin along with them. As the door closed with a boom behind him, Merlin stared in wonder at the dark palace he'd been thrown into. It was beautiful.

Sitting in a throne at the center of the room was a man who looked slightly familiar, although Merlin couldn't quite place how. He stood up and walked towards the warlock, his face cold and cruel.

"So you are King Arthur's famous manservant," he drawled, looking his captive up and down. "I guess I expected you to be a little bit more."

"Sorry, I didn't realize I was disappointing you," Merlin said back sarcastically. The man glared at him and backhanded him across the face. Merlin winced, his cheek stinging from the blow.

"Do not be insolent with me, boy. Your precious king might tolerate it, but you will get no such treatment from me," the man hissed. Merlin glared at him.

"Who are you? Why have you taken me?" he spat. A small smirk flashed across the man's face.

"I owe no explanations to you, servant. You are but a means to get what I really want."

Merlin's heart thudded harder in his chest. He was a means to get what this man wanted. This man wanted Arthur.

"Arthur won't come for me," Merlin said, although he didn't really believe it. "I'm just his servant. He won't care enough to come rescue me. I'm useless as bait."

The man smiled widely, which sent strange shivers down Merlin's spine. "Oh, I don't expect him to. In fact, no one even knows you are missing. A bit shaken yes, as can be expected from a kidnap attempt. But otherwise everyone believes all is well."

Merlin's stomach clenched. "What do you mean?"

His captor didn't answer. He looked at the men gripping Merlin's arms. "Shackle him to the wall, drug, and gag him. If what I've heard is true, it'll be impossible to shut him up otherwise."

The men nodded and dragged Merlin to the far end of the room. As they got closer to the wall, Merlin could see a pair of shackles directly bolted to the wall, high enough that a prisoner could sit on the floor and have his arms bound above him.

One of the men let go of Merlin's arm and reached into a pouch at his belt, where he procured a key. He unlocked the shackles and Merlin was forced to sit on the ground. The man with the knife cut through the ropes on his wrists, but before Merlin could try anything they'd grabbed his arms and forced them into the shackles, locking them securely. Merlin glared daggers at the men, but they didn't seem to care.

After double checking that the shackles were secure, the man with the pouch pulled a small vial of something green into view. Merlin took one look at the potion and immediately felt nauseous. He didn't want that in him. He didn't want it desperately.

Merlin thought he recognized the liquid from working with Gaius. It was a toxin that dulled the senses, rendering a person nearly helpless. It was a highly effective drug, working almost instantly and lasting for at least six hours, depending on the dosage. And the amount Merlin saw contained in that little bottle was enough to keep him under for at least two days.

The most dangerous aspect of this drug however, was that it worked hardest on the skills each individual person had. In a strong man, it would weaken his muscles the most. In an intelligent man, it would drastically decrease his brain power. And in Merlin, it would attack his magic.

"No," Merlin couldn't help but mutter as the drug was brought close to his mouth. He was free of the ropes, he could escape using magic once the coast was clear if that drug wasn't put in him. He wondered distantly why his captor even felt the need to drug him. As far as he knew, he was a simple servant. Wasn't shackling him to the wall enough?

Merlin tried to pull his head away as one of the men reached for his face, but it did no good. There was a wall behind him, after all. The man gripped Merlin's cheeks, pushing his lips into a pucker with one hand and plugging his nose with the other, forcing the warlock to breath from his mouth. The other man uncorked the vial and dumped the contents down Merlin's throat.

Merlin coughed and gagged, trying to keep as much of the drug from getting into his system as he could, but it was no use. He swallowed out of reflex and before he knew it, all the liquid had landed in his stomach.

The man holding the vial returned it to his pouch and pulled out a dark cloth and a small length of rope. With the drug already beginning to cloud his mind, Merlin barely understood what was going on as the men stuffed the cloth into his mouth and bound it in place with the rope, effectively gagging him.

Merlin struggled to keep a grip on his magic as he felt a horrible, fizzy feeling spread across his body. Slowly he felt his magic being taken from him, trapped beneath the terrible fizziness. _No! _He began to fight harder, trying his best to save what little magic he could from this relentless foe.

After a few minutes, Merlin sagged in his shackles, defeated. The drug had done its job well. He couldn't detect any magic on his person. He was trapped here, for reasons he still didn't really understand. And if what his captor had told him was true, there would be no rescue coming.

Things weren't looking too good for the almighty Emrys.

* * *

**Please review! I'll try to make the next update faster! :)**


	14. What Happened Before Part Two

**So a little explanation about having a part two for the 'What Happened Before' chapter (and a part three actually)...**

**I was originally just going to do the whole Merlin flashback in one chapter, but then it began to get REALLY long, so I halved it. Then the second half became REALLY long too, so I halved that one as well. So there are three Merlin flashback chapters here. Sorry if you're totally dying to know what is going on in the present of the story, but I felt like it was important to see all that happened to Merlin during these two weeks. **

**That, and there actually are some really important things discussed in this chapter. It's kinda talkie, but hopefully you'll all still enjoy it.**

**Thanks soooooooooooo much for all the reviews! You guys make it worth writing! Love you!**

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter 14: What Happened Before Part Two

Days passed.

Merlin lost track of how many, but he guessed it was probably around three or four. Maybe five. It was impossible to tell since he was kept chained in the throne room the whole time, and there weren't any windows to let in natural light. He'd been fed a few times, and about twice a day someone came by, undid his gag and trickled a bit of water down his throat, but other than that he'd mostly been left alone.

The only slightly eventful moment had been when the men had returned with another dose of the drug, about two days into his captivity.

Merlin could tell it was wearing off, but he'd been trying hard to keep looking weak and helpless. Maybe the men would forget and he'd be able to escape. As the drug grew weaker and weaker, Merlin had started to dig around for his magic. He'd managed to collect a small pool of it, saving a bit of it here and a bit of it there. It still wasn't enough for him to complete even the most meager of spells, but it was a great comfort to know his magic wasn't gone for good. Just hidden, masked.

Merlin had nearly gathered enough magic to unlock the shackles when the second dose had arrived. The warlock had struggled against the men's harsh grip as they forced in another vial, but it was no use. Merlin felt the magic he had so painstakingly collected get whisked away and covered by the terrible fizziness again. His stomach rolled and he gagged, nearly vomiting all over himself. All in all, Merlin felt pretty horrible.

But the drug wasn't the only thing making him sick. Merlin had yet to figure out why he'd been taken captive, and it was driving him insane with worry. Not worry for himself, even though the warlock had to admit he was in a pretty tough spot. He was worried about what Lord Dareth planned on doing to Arthur and Camelot.

He'd overheard his captor's name being said by some of the masked men who occasionally walked through the throne room. It was nice knowing the man's name, but it didn't really shed any light on the mystery. Merlin had never heard of a Lord Dareth. He guessed he was from a kingdom neighboring Camelot, but that was about as far as he got. No one was stopping to explain anything to him. Not that he expected it. He was their prisoner, after all. It didn't matter what he wanted.

Merlin was also a little concerned about why there hadn't been a rescue attempt yet. Not that he wanted Arthur or the knights to get into danger because of him, but he _would_ really like to get out of this place. That, and the fact that there had been no response from Camelot at all made him nervous. What if something had happened to Arthur as well? Was he a captive somewhere too? Or what if Camelot had been taken over by Morgana in his absence? Or Arthur had been killed somehow? Or what if… what if they didn't care enough to go find him?

Shaking his head, Merlin immediately dismissed that idea. Arthur would never leave one of his men in danger if he could do anything about it. He'd seen the king's love and loyalty to his people time and time again. He couldn't believe that Arthur would rest until he'd found Merlin.

Which brought Merlin's nerves full circle. _He didn't want Arthur to come here_. That was obviously what Lord Dareth wanted, and it would certainly not mean good news for the young king or Camelot. So actually, it was a good thing that there had been no rescue attempts yet. It was a _good_ thing that Merlin was still sitting here, gagged, drugged, and shackled without any idea where he was or why he was here.

Merlin thought the drugs must have been doing something crazy to his head.

The warlock let his head droop onto his chest, his jaw aching from the gag. He sighed heavily and was about to close his eyes and begin concentrating on locating his magic when he realized someone was standing beside him. He could see their feet in his peripherals, and the bottom of a dark cloak.

"You're Emrys. Aren't you?"

Merlin snapped his head up. It was the young sorcerer who'd captured him, Grayton. The boy was looking down at him with a strange expression of awe mixed with guilt. He seemed to be waiting for Merlin to respond, his forehead creased.

Merlin raised an eyebrow and looked down at his gag. Grayton grimaced in embarrassment.

"Oh, yes, of course. Sorry," he stammered. He muttered a word in the Old Religion as his eyes flashed, and Merlin's gag fell away from his face. Merlin worked his jaw up and down, relieved. He looked at Grayton cautiously.

"What gave you that idea?" he croaked, his voice scratchy from lack of use. Grayton broke eye contact and looked at the floor.

"Just… just something King Arthur said. About you calling him the Once and Future King. And since you have magic, I thought-"

"You were talking to Arthur?" Merlin shot, his eyes wide and intense. Maybe involuntarily, the young sorcerer stepped back.

"Um, yes. Well, kind of. He, um, didn't know it was me he was talking to," Grayton said sheepishly. Merlin frowned.

"What do you mean?" he asked slowly. Grayton didn't seem to want to answer. He kept shuffling his feet anxiously. He glanced over his shoulder, like he was ensuring they were alone in the room.

"King Arthur thought it was you he was talking to," Grayton admitted. Merlin felt his heart drop into his stomach. The situation suddenly clicked into place.

"You are impersonating me," he said, staring in horror at the young sorcerer. Grayton just nodded, still avoiding eye contact. Merlin swallowed hard, trying to keep back the sudden rush of anger that shot through him. Judging from the frightened look that crossed Grayton's face at Merlin's expression, it didn't work too well.

"I suppose you are spying on Camelot then. Or do you mean to lure Arthur into a trap? Or maybe assassinate him?" Merlin said, his voice low and angry. Grayton shook his head.

"No, no, you don't understand, I don't mean to do any harm -"

"Well, if that's the case, why don't you go ahead and release me and leave Arthur alone!?" Merlin snapped. "You've already harmed me, in case you didn't notice."

"I know. I'm sorry. I can't help it," Grayton said weakly. The shame on his face made him look even younger than he was. He took a shaky breath. "You are Emrys, aren't you? The prophesized warlock?"

"How do you know about that? Are you a druid?" Merlin challenged. A shadow of a smile flitted across Grayton's face.

"My mother was," he said simply. Then his face darkened. "But that doesn't matter. I came here to tell you something, but I don't have much time. Will you please listen? It's important."

"Will it get me out of these shackles?" Merlin asked, his eyebrow quirked. Grayton glanced at the metal cuffs around Merlin's wrists and winced.

"I'm afraid not. I've been commanded explicitly to make sure you can't escape. That's why… that's why you were drugged. To suppress your… you know. Magic."

Fear suddenly shot through Merlin's stomach in an icy jolt. "You told Lord Dareth about my magic?"

Grayton's eyes widened and he shook his head furiously. "No, no, of course I didn't! I told you your secret was safe with me, remember? I just told him to drug you. Not why. And he didn't ask, so the secret's still safe," he added earnestly.

Merlin didn't feel very safe. "Well, thank you, I guess. But it doesn't really matter. Either way I'm stuck here."

Grayton stared at him. "Will you listen to what I need to tell you?" he asked pleadingly. "It's about an ancient ceremony called blood-binding."

Merlin's head had already begun to pound with an oncoming headache. He really didn't need any information about ancient ceremonies at the moment, much less ones with titles as ominous as blood-binding. But Grayton sounded so very desperate. Hearing his pleading voice brought back some of the strange kinship and sympathy he'd felt for the boy when he'd first seen him back in Gaius's chambers. Merlin nodded.

"I'll listen. It's not like I'm going anywhere. But… can you do something for me first?" he asked. Grayton shuffled a bit.

"Uh, yes, but remember, we don't have too much more time-"

"Just answer me this: Is Camelot safe? Is Arthur alright? Do they… do they know something's wrong?" Merlin stared at the young sorcerer's face, trying to milk out answers from his expression. A look of relief flashed over Grayton's face.

"I can answer those. Camelot is… well, it's safe for now. It may not be for much longer. King Arthur is doing alright. He's worried about you. All of your friends are. They don't understand why you're acting strangely." He let out a little laugh.

"And yes, they know something's wrong, but no one can pinpoint what. I've been trying hard to act strange and secretive, so your friends would get suspicious. It's worked, mostly. But I won't be able to do that for much longer."

Grayton's face grew hard and sad, like he'd seen and done things he wished had never occurred.

"What do you mean?" Merlin asked carefully. Grayton shook his head.

"You'll see. But now I need to tell you about blood- binding," he responded firmly. Merlin nodded. He knew when to stop.

"So tell me. What is blood-binding?" he prompted, leaning his head back against the wall.

Grayton's green eyes hardened. He looked at Merlin with a strange new intensity and took a deep breath. "It is an ancient ritual, known only by the High Priestesses of the Old Religion."

"Does it involve snakes?" Merlin asked dryly. Grayton looked confused.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Yes, um, anyway," Grayton started again, looking a little flustered. "What it does is… well, it binds two people together. Or more like, binds one person to another. They have to be related though, for it to work. A close relation. They have to share the same blood. Like… father and son."

He gave Merlin a pointed look, his eyes pleading with him to get it. Merlin sighed and frowned.

"Very interesting. What does that have to do with anything?"

"I'm not done," Grayton said quickly. "You see, when done correctly, it binds one person to the will of another. Their mind is their own, but they have no choice but to do as the other tells them. Oh, and the bond grows with time. The longer it exists, the stronger it is."

"Fascinating," Merlin said. "But why-"

Merlin was interrupted when one of the wooden doors swung open with a bang. Grayton jumped and straightened up, quickly re-gagging Merlin with a flick of his hand. Three men walked into the room, Lord Dareth and two masked guards. The lord looked at Grayton icily, the young sorcerer squirming uncomfortably under his gaze. Dareth motioned for his guards to remain by the door as he walked threateningly up to Grayton.

"You weren't talking to the prisoner, were you my little sorcerer?" he growled, his voice low. "Tell the truth."

Grayton was shaking as he answered. "Yes, I was."

Lord Dareth smacked the boy hard across the face. "From this point on, never approach the prisoner unless I am with you or directly tell you to. Is that clear?"

Grayton nodded, his eyes tearing up from the blow. He kept his face lowered, not making eye contact with Lord Dareth. Merlin felt another pang of sympathy for the young sorcerer. It was very clear just from those few moments that this was a very abusive relationship. Merlin wondered why Grayton still worked for Lord Dareth. The boy had pretty powerful magic, and he was resourceful enough to capture Emrys. Why did he remain under Lord Dareth's power when he could easily defeat the man?

Dareth wasn't done with Grayton. He stalked up close to the boy again, his eyes narrowed. "Have you discovered where Camelot's knights will be meeting with Odin's embassy, boy? And when?"

Grayton nodded reluctantly. "King Arthur told me today. They are traveling along the secret eastern route, which means they should meet with Odin's embassy just outside the forest bordering the lands."

Dareth took this into consideration with a smirk. "And when?"

"In two days," Grayton answered. Dareth nodded.

"Very well then. I need you to sneak away from Camelot undetected and kill Odin's councilors before Camelot's knights find them."

Grayton's eyes widened in horror. "K…kill them?"

Dareth gave him a disgusted look. "Yes boy, kill them. Stop looking so horrified."

Grayton's face instantly morphed into impassiveness, but his voice remained shaky. "But… I have never killed before."

"It shouldn't be too hard for you to figure out. You have magic, after all. Just get it done, and make sure Camelot's knights aren't any trouble as well. We wouldn't want anything to get in the way of our final step," Dareth sneered. Grayton's eyes were filling with tears, but he nodded jerkily.

"What…whatever you say, Father."

Merlin blinked. He supposed he should have put the clues together sooner, but it still surprised him. Lord Dareth was Grayton's father. Now that it was clear, Merlin could actually see the resemblance between them. Dark brown hair, green eyes, similar stature and height. But where Lord Dareth was hardened and cruel, Grayton was gentle and scared.

What was it that Grayton had been telling him about before Dareth marched in? Blood-binding? And something about how it only worked between close relations, like a father and a son…

"So now about your deception of Camelot…" Dareth's eyes flickered over to Merlin with a small smile. "Has anyone noticed anything out of place about their dear Merlin?"

Merlin glared daggers at him as Grayton responded. "Y…yes they have. They keep asking me what's wrong, trying to get me to tell them more. But I haven't said anything you have forbidden me to," the young sorcerer said. "I can't." he added sadly.

"We need to extinguish their worry. When do you need to take the potion again?"

"In about two days," Grayton said. Dareth nodded.

"Then directly after you take care of the embassy and knights, I need you to report back here and take it. Understand?"

Grayton nodded. "Of course I do Father. I have little choice." He looked over at Merlin, his eyes filled with shame. But Merlin could only feel sorrow for the young man. He finally understood why he'd been so insistent on telling him about blood-binding earlier.

Grayton was blood-bound to his father. He'd probably been so since he was a child. Grayton had no choice but to follow his father's orders, whether he wanted to or not. And Dareth was using his son as nothing more than a tool, magic completely under his control. It made Merlin sick.

"Very good. Now back to Camelot with you. People might start to think that Merlin is missing," Lord Dareth said, with another smirk towards the shackled warlock. Merlin seriously wished he wasn't gagged, because there were some choice words he wanted to yell at the man.

Grayton nodded to his father, sent another apologetic look towards Merlin, then hurried out of the room. Dareth watched his son go, and then motioned at the guards by the door.

"I think it's time our prisoner had another drink," he called. Merlin's stomach clenched and he swallowed hard, trying desperately to use what little magic he had gathered to protect himself, but he knew before he even started it was no good. There was nothing he could do as the men yanked out his gag and forced down another vial of the horrible liquid.

* * *

The third time Merlin was given the drug was about the same time Grayton returned.

This time he was with Lord Dareth when he entered, just as the lord had commanded his son last time. A few days had passed, and Merlin was really feeling seriously uncomfortable. His hands had nearly gone numb from being elevated this whole time and his rear was aching from being stuck sitting for so long.

But all thought about his own discomfort disappeared when he saw the look on Grayton's face.

The young sorcerer looked devastated and hollow, tear tracks marking his cheeks as he walked beside Lord Dareth. His hands were shaking horribly and his face was pale. Merlin remembered with a pang what Dareth had commanded his son to do before returning.

That did it. Lord Dareth was officially the worst father in the history of ever. Even Uther hadn't been hard-hearted enough to be this cruel to his own child.

Dareth looked at his son and motioned towards Merlin. "Get on with it, boy."

Grayton bowed his head and hurried towards Merlin, pulling a jar of something out of his pouch. At first Merlin thought it was the drug, but then he noticed it wasn't the same acid green color, instead having an odd, off white sort of hue. It was a bit thicker as well, looking sort of like porridge.

Grayton pulled a small knife from his belt and pricked Merlin's finger with the tip, letting a small drizzle of blood run down. Merlin was amazed any blood came out, his hand looked so white. The warlock watched as Grayton caught a drop or two of Merlin's blood in the jar, then the young sorcerer stepped back and muttered some words in the Old Religion, his hands on the jar. The potion inside glowed with gold for a moment, then settled back down into its usual color.

Merlin had to admit he was surprised when a moment later Grayton opened the jar and dumped the contents into his mouth. But he was even more surprised when immediately after the young sorcerer began to grow taller, his hair shorter and darker, his skin lighter. Even his clothes were changing, morphing into a familiar blue shirt and red neckerchief. In just a few moments, Merlin was staring at an exact replica of himself.

The look on Merlin's face must have been something, because Lord Dareth laughed. "Surprised, Merlin? It is a very good likeness, is it not? Grayton, ungag him, I would like to hear what he is thinking," Dareth commanded.

A flash of gold later, the gag dropped from Merlin's mouth. "What are you going to do to Arthur?" he shot at the lord.

Dareth smiled. "I'm going to do to him just what I'm doing to you. He will be my prisoner, kept only for the blood that runs in his veins. That's the only downside to this wonderful potion my son created. In order to create a perfect likeness, a drop or two of blood needs to be added from the person who is being imitated. Didn't you wonder why you hadn't just been killed before being replaced?"

Merlin had actually wondered that, but he'd tried not to dwell on it. In his experience, being captured but not killed didn't always mean you got the better deal.

"So you plan on using your son, pretending to be me, to lure Arthur into a trap that will land him as a prisoner here, and then use the potion to have Grayton imitate him instead of me?" Merlin growled. He grasped at the little pocket of magic he'd salvaged. Usually when he felt strong emotions it triggered something inside of him that let loose more of his power. Maybe if he let Dareth get him angry, it would be enough to break free of the drug.

Dareth gave Merlin a slow, sarcastic clap. "Very good, servant. Almost entirely correct. I am not going to lure Arthur into a trap. That won't be necessary. No, I plan on taking Camelot first. Then her king will be easy to capture."

Merlin could feel his rage building, but it still wasn't enough to tap into his magic. _Come on! I'm Emrys! This sort of thing is supposed to be easy for me!_

"And you are using your son to do all of this. You are forcing him to do terrible things, to kill and kidnap and harm people, all to appease your own selfish desires," Merlin cried. He didn't miss the look of grateful relief that flashed across Grayton's- _his?_- face at those words.

Dareth, however, did not look so grateful. He walked to Merlin and grabbed his jaw with a firm hand, forcing the warlock to look into the lord's furious green eyes. "It is not for my own selfish desires, boy. It is for revenge. For my father's family for many generations. And it is my son's duty to help me, even if he does not wish to."

He pushed Merlin's head back hard so it slammed against the wall. The warlock couldn't help but let out a small gasp of pain, stars dancing in his vision.

"Do not challenge my motives, servant. You know nothing of nobles and grudges, of magic and power and revenge. So do not even try to condemn me. I am in the right," Dareth snarled.

Merlin almost rolled his eyes and sighed in exasperation. He wished he could throw some of his adventures in Dareth's face, prove he wasn't the helpless idiotic servant everyone seemed to think he was. He could think of a million snarky comebacks, but he decided to hold off. The look in Dareth's eyes made it clear things could get ugly if he was pushed much harder.

"So you need my blood to impersonate me," Merlin said, hoping that with a change of subject Dareth would calm down. Maybe he could still learn something from this.

"Yes," Dareth said, glancing at the Grayton-Merlin. "Each dose lasts about a week. It is quite a remarkable potion, in truth. My son created it, with some prodding from me, of course. As you can see the likeness is quite perfect, even down to the clothing. But the true brilliance comes from the second dose."

Dareth's eyes were bright with excitement, which looked odd above his cruel smirk. "You see Merlin, in the second dose, the imitation become perfect. Not only does one put on the appearance of another, but the personality as well. It still is not exact, but with each dose of the potion it becomes closer and closer to the real person, until they even share the same memories. Incredible, isn't it?"

Merlin thought it sounded more horrible than incredible, although he had to admit it was a pretty impressive piece of magic. And to learn that Grayton created it himself was impressive as well, although Merlin was pretty sure the sorcerer would have been much happier had it never been made.

"So now Grayton will act like me as well?" he asked slowly, looking at the sorcerer. Grayton swallowed and looked at the floor guiltily.

"Yes, in most scenarios. Like I said, it's not quite perfect yet," Dareth explained. "Oh, and there is one more little trick about it…" He gave Grayton a look which the young man seemed to understand instantly. Merlin watched as he transformed back into his usual appearance.

"The potion gives the user the ability to go back and forth between appearances. Just as a little bit of a safety net," Dareth gloated. He turned away from Merlin and looked at his son. "Now back to Camelot with you, _Merlin_. The physician is going to need your help taking care of all those knights you injured."

Merlin's heart hammered in his chest. "Knights were injured? How?"

"They went to meet Odin's embassy, of course. And all were taken down. What a humorous situation, don't you think?" Dareth mocked, smirking. "King Arthur's four closest and most trusted knights, all of which are known throughout the land for their bravery and great abilities as fighters, defeated by a mere boy."

King Arthur's four closest and most trusted knights. Leon, Elyan, Percival, and Gwaine. Taken down. Merlin's head spun and his stomach clenched in fear. He glared at Lord Dareth.

"If you've harmed any of my friends-"

"You'll what? You have nothing but empty threats, servant. And once I have King Arthur in my clutches, I won't have any more need for you. I don't owe a thing to you. Now quickly, Grayton, re-gag him. I don't want to hear another ridiculous threat."

Merlin didn't hate many people. He often even felt bad for the sorcerers and sorceresses he'd faced over the years, knowing that if the purge had never taken place they probably wouldn't be so twisted by hatred and pain to become what they were. But he truly, purely, legitimately hated Lord Dareth. It was official now.

The gag went back on, and all Merlin could do was glare as Dareth walked casually out of his throne room, Grayton following like a scolded dog. Two of Dareth's guards came in a moment later with the new dosage of drug to shove down his throat. But to Merlin's horror, they weren't just carrying one vial this time. They had three.

Merlin guessed Dareth had ordered the men to triple the dosage this time as a sort of punishment for what he'd said. He supposed he could have received a worse punishment, torture for one, but he found it hard to be grateful for anything as the horrible fizziness began to descend upon him again, this time three times as strong. Merlin felt his eyes begin to go fuzzy and his hearing dim, until he was hanging limply in a half-unconscious stupor.

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**Awww, poor Merlin! Always getting the shaft. :( **

**Thank you so much for reading! And reviewing! Right? :P**


	15. What Happened Before Part Three

**Here's the last part of the flashbacks, and it brings us right up to the present! Hooray! :D**

**Thanks for all who reviewed between updates! You guys rock! **

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter 15: What Happened Before Part Three

Everything blurred together after the overdose.

Merlin was given yet another dose the next day, which kept him barely awake and certainly unable to work on gathering any of his magic. He was vaguely aware of being fed and given water, but nothing seemed to make sense anymore. He did notice, or more like felt, that his gag had not been replaced. They must have thought he was too out of it to be able to say anything. They weren't wrong.

Time flowed past Merlin like water, unable for him to grasp. All he was aware of was his pounding head and squirming stomach, and the tightness around his wrists. His eyelids felt extremely heavy and he had a hard time keeping them open. He knew he had to figure out a way to escape, had to get to Camelot and warn Arthur before Lord Dareth got what he wanted, but his brain was incapable of getting much farther than that.

At one point, who knows how much later, he suddenly became aware of Lord Dareth standing beside him, a smug smile on his face, before saying something to a guard beside him. Merlin felt the cold, smooth glass of the vial on his lips and the acidic taste of the drug being poured into his mouth, but he found he couldn't struggle. He could barely even hold his own head up.

As this seventh dose of potion settled into his stomach, Merlin's body finally had enough. He felt himself begin to drift away into unconsciousness, not even finding the strength to struggle as his mind melted into blackness.

* * *

When Merlin woke up, something felt different.

It wasn't his head, the aching in it was still the same. It wasn't the hold on his magic, although it did feel a bit stronger than before. It wasn't even the scratchy bag he'd discovered covering his head.

No, there was some different feeling about his surroundings. Some sort of… strange familiarity. His magic was fluttering weakly beneath the fizziness, as if it were excited somehow. Like it had become whole again.

Whole again.

Arthur.

He was here, Merlin was sure of it. In fact, as he managed to struggle a bit to break the surface of his internal prison, he thought he could even hear his friend's voice, talking to Lord Dareth. He felt a great rush of relief. Arthur had finally come.

Then his senses returned a bit, and instead of relief he felt dread. Arthur hadn't come. He'd been captured. Dareth's plan had worked. And if he was right, it sounded like Gwen was here too. And Grayton, disguised as him. He knew the young sorcerer couldn't do anything to help the situation, but that didn't mean Merlin couldn't try.

He worked harder at his magic, gripping it tightly in his mind and digging desperately beneath the surface for more to come. He knew there was more. There had to be more. Arthur, Gwen, and all of Camelot depended on it.

He knew this probably wasn't the best way to end up revealing his magic to Arthur, but he could think of no other options. Maybe if he could just use his magic to get this hood of his head, then Arthur would see who he was and then Grayton would be revealed as an imposter and then…. What? Dareth would command his son to kill him and Gwen, and Merlin would have to use magic in defense anyway. And in his current state, Merlin wasn't sure if he'd even be able to use his magic for anything of use anyway.

It was a really sticky situation. Merlin couldn't think of a single way to get Arthur and Gwen safely out without revealing his magic. He was willing to do it, if it was the only way, but his heart filled with dread at the idea. What if Arthur wasn't ready?

Suddenly a foot connected with his leg, shaking him out of his thoughts. A moment later he felt the shackles around his wrists being released and strong arms lifting him up like a rag doll. He felt himself being carried away from the throne room.

Away from Arthur.

"Ar…thur…" he croaked, barely even able to hear himself. The next thing he knew he was dropped roughly on the ground and something hard and heavy hit him securely on the head.

* * *

The next time Merlin opened his eyes, he was back in the throne room, alone. The hood was off now, and his head felt a lot clearer. Maybe being hit really hard on the head had actually helped. He also noticed that he was no longer wearing the clothes he'd been kidnapped in. Now he was wearing clothes that looked like they'd been attacked by a wyvern and then spent the night with a troll.

Frowning down at his new apparel, Merlin wondered for a moment how long he'd been out. Had it really been so long that his clothes would turn into these?

No, it couldn't have been that long. They must've changed his clothes for when Arthur and Gwen were in here, so they wouldn't recognize him for what he was wearing. Merlin's neckerchief _was_ a bit famous around Camelot.

Oh no… Arthur and Gwen…

His mind went immediately to the king and queen. His stomach twisted into nervous knots. What had happened to them? Were they both dead? No, Dareth wouldn't kill Arthur. He needed his blood for the impersonation potion. But what about Gwen? Had he killed her? There wasn't any reason for Dareth to keep her alive…

Then again,_ he_ was still alive. That had to count for something. Dareth had made it very clear that once he had his hands on Arthur, he would have no need for the servant. So perhaps things hadn't gone exactly to plan. Maybe Grayton had found a loophole in his father's orders and managed to save the king and queen. Or maybe Arthur had escaped on his own.

Despite himself, Merlin snorted at the thought, a smile flitting across his lips. Like Arthur could save himself from something like this. No, he'd always needed Merlin to do it for him.

Which reminded Merlin that he needed to get going on his thousandth 'Rescue Arthur' plan. Probing again for his magic, Merlin found with a thrill it was lot easier to locate now. It was still too weak to be of any real use, but at least he could feel it all now. That was a lot better. Not that it would really help him at the moment, but he was gaining strength. That he knew for sure.

And so of course, at that moment the eighth dose of the drug decided to walk in. After being forced to swallow it, Merlin sagged mournfully against the wall, waiting for the usual horrible overcoming feeling to descend upon him. But to his surprise, it didn't.

Merlin watched the guard walk out of the throne room, closing the door with a slam behind him. Had the guard given him something that wasn't the potion? Was he trying to help him escape?

The warlock dismissed that idea almost immediately. No, it had definitely been the same drug. He'd felt the same stinging fizzy sensation as it slid past his tongue. What was so different this time that it wasn't affecting him? Not that he minded, of course. It was just a bit confusing. What had recently happened that would change the way his body reacted to it?

And then it came to him. Merlin nearly laughed out loud. Take this, Lord Dareth!

It was the drug overdose, and being unconscious for who knows how long. His body had been so overwhelmed by the drug that it had to shut down and battle it as he slept. And somehow, miraculously, he had won. His magic must have overcome the drug enough that he'd grown a sort of affinity to it. It no longer had any real impact on his system. Sure, it wasn't all out of him yet and his magic was still weak, but new doses of the drug no longer worked on him. If things kept going this way, he'd be able to bust himself out in a few hours or so.

Merlin just hoped Arthur and Gwen would be alright until then, wherever they were.

* * *

Merlin guessed several hours had passed when Lord Dareth marched into the room angrily, one of his guards walking anxiously behind him.

"You still have control of the situation, my lord," the guard said, as if trying to reassure Dareth. Merlin recognized his voice as the man who'd been with Grayton when he'd first been kidnapped. "Your son's deception is still firmly in place. He must bend to your will-"

"I know that already!" Dareth cried, sending him a glare. "He must bend to my will, yes. But he still has a will of his own. He is somehow hiding things from me, I know it! Things like that knight- I thought all of Camelot's knights had been taken care of!"

Merlin snapped to attention. A knight of Camelot had been here?

"When Grayton's impersonation of the servant is finally finished, I will have some words with him," Dareth continued menacingly, clenching his fists. "He will never be able to hide information from me again."

"Take heart, my lord," the guard said. "If your prediction is correct, King Arthur will return shortly. Then you can kill the knight and queen and dispose of your prisoner and all will still go according to plan."

Merlin blinked in shock. Arthur had _escaped_? On his own? Well, no, not on his own. It sounded like a knight had come and got him, Gwen, and who they thought was Merlin out. A smile began to grow on his face. They were safe! They were out of here! And now that his magic was returning, he'd be able to escape on his own shortly and possibly take down Lord Dareth as well. It was perfect!

Excited, Merlin reached deep for his magic. He was delighted to feel it pooling up inside him, almost completely recovered. Smirking, Merlin almost laughed. It was time to show Lord Dareth what a bad idea it was to kidnap him and mess with his friends. Maybe he should escape right now, make a big magical show for Dareth and his guards…

One of the wooden doors slammed open. "My Lord! They are coming! King Arthur, the knight, and your sorcerer. They are nearly at the throne room," a second guard cried, running into the room.

Dareth looked over at the man and took a deep breath. A smile grew on his face. "I shouldn't have doubted my own intuition. Very good, gentlemen. Prepare to re-welcome the king of Camelot."

He slid into his throne as the two guards took positions beside him. Merlin's heart raced. Arthur was coming back?! What was that dollop-head thinking! No, no, this ruined everything! If Arthur was here, Merlin couldn't use his magic to escape. If Arthur was here…

Maybe it was time. Maybe Arthur needed to know now. What choice did Merlin have?

Dareth glanced behind his throne. His eyes fell on Merlin and he cursed. "Quickly! Cover the boy and gag him! We can't afford to ruin the deception now!" the lord cried, motioning at his men.

Merlin didn't struggle as they hurriedly shoved the cloth back into his mouth and bound it, and then pulled the scratchy cloth bag back over his head. They could be easily removed with just a flash of his eyes if the need came. For now, Merlin actually didn't mind that Arthur wouldn't be able to recognize him. It might give him a little bit more time to figure out a plan, maybe find a way to save them all without revealing his magic…

And then the door was shoved open again, and Merlin heard the scuffling of footsteps. Arthur, one of the knights, and Grayton had arrived.

"Welcome back, Arthur," Merlin heard Dareth drawl. "It took you long enough."

The lord sounded calm and collected, not betraying the fact that he'd been on edge just a few moments ago. Merlin guessed he was trying to sound cocky and intimidate Arthur. Like that ever worked.

"Lord Dareth of the court of Odin, you are under arrest for crimes against the kingdoms of Camelot and King Odin," Arthur said, his voice steely cold. Despite himself, Merlin almost grinned. He'd missed Arthur's kingly proclamations.

"Right to business then? How expected," Dareth countered. "I suppose you are going to try to take me now, then?"

"Do not try to resist, it will only make things worse for you," Arthur responded.

As fascinating as the conversation was, Merlin decided he had better things to focus on. He began to bring his magic to the surface, ready for use, his brain whizzing with ideas of escapes. Not one of them resulted in them all escaping safely with his secret still intact.

Vaguely, Merlin could hear fighting. From the roaring laughter, the warlock could tell the knight was Gwaine. The thought that his friend was unharmed enough to fight filled him with relief and joy, and he began to think harder on escaping. Maybe, if he could somehow drop the chandelier… That would be a pretty good distraction… No, that wouldn't work, he couldn't see it, he didn't know where it would land. It could crush Arthur and Gwaine. Maybe…

The sounds of fighting came to a stop. Merlin could hear Arthur talking to Dareth, attempting to arrest him again. The warlock closed his eyes and concentrated. Maybe if he could speak a spell that would allow him to see through the bag, he could make the chandelier fall and ensure that it wouldn't hurt Arthur and Gwaine-

Merlin felt a strong thrum of magic wash over him, startling him out of his thoughts. At first he thought it was his own, but then he realized how unfamiliar it felt. It couldn't be his magic. And there was only one other magic-user in the room.

The sound of two bodies colliding with the stone floor across the room echoed through the hall. The room became deathly silent.

"Very good, _Merlin_," Lord Dareth mocked.

"Please, let that be all. Please," Merlin heard Grayton whimper in his voice.

Merlin's heart thudded painfully against his chest. Dareth had revealed Grayton. But apparently, he hadn't revealed that Grayton was not Merlin. That meant Arthur had seen "Merlin" use magic. Against him.

A tremendous rush of fear coursed through him. What was Arthur thinking? How was his friend feeling? The young king had already been through two incredibly painful betrayals. Merlin didn't think he'd be able to handle another one. What if Arthur broke after this, became a shell like Uther had after Morgana betrayed them? What if it made Arthur furious and he began a new Great Purge? Of course, the king had to get out of here safely first before he could do either of those things, but Merlin wondered in horror if Arthur would lose the will to keep trying after this.

And for nothing! Merlin _wasn't_ betraying him, he was sitting back here, shackled to the wall, trying to find a way to save his friend just like always. But Arthur didn't know that. And Merlin wondered that if he did somehow manage to get them all out, and he had to reveal his magic in the process, if Arthur would ever be able to accept him for what he was.

Merlin's mind raced. He had to concentrate. He knew there was only one person now that might be able to shake Arthur out of his stupor and perhaps turn the tides in their favor. He had to find Arthur's wife.

He knew Gwen would be somewhere nearby. Even if Arthur had told her to stay away, the warlock knew the queen would do no such thing. She would be too worried about her husband to stay too far away. Reaching out with his mind, Merlin began to search for his old friend's presence. If she was close enough, maybe he could get her to come and…

And what? He'd just lead her into the trap with Arthur and Gwaine. But something in him told him to find her. Gwen needed to be here.

To Merlin's surprise, he found her quite quickly. She was actually in the tunnels around the throne room. She must have been lost in the labyrinth for she seemed to be wandering at random, nervous and disheartened.

Merlin's eyes flashed gold and the gag around his mouth dropped off his face. He concentrated on Gwen, her location, and then on himself and the throne room. Then he whispered a word in the old religion and felt a small bit of magic flow through him. Something warm formed in the palm of his hand, and Merlin smiled. The spell had worked. His ball of light would lead Gwen here, and actually bring her through the doors in the back, nearer to where Merlin was shackled. If she chose to follow it, of course.

Merlin hoped desperately that Dareth wouldn't look behind him anytime soon. Or that Arthur or Gwaine would look at him either, for that matter. The only drawback of this particular spell was that in order to connect the ball of light to him, he had hold another, smaller one. He'd done it once before many years ago when Arthur had been out getting the cure for the morteus flower. At least, that's what Gaius had told him. Since Merlin had been the one poisoned at the time, he didn't really remember much.

Merlin waited anxiously, trying not to think too hard on how broken Arthur sounded. Soon he would prove Dareth wrong, show that he was not betraying Arthur. The king wouldn't have to feel this way much longer.

A few agonizing minutes passed. Merlin was almost afraid that Gwen wouldn't follow the light, but then he heard the door nearest him open slowly. Merlin released the spell quickly, getting rid of the light in his palm before Gwen could see it. He heard her creep into the room, listened to her startled gasp as she saw the scene. Once he even felt her near him, as if she were intrigued by this mysterious prisoner and wanted to discover his identity. _Yes! Yes! That would be perfect, Gwen! Take the hood off!_

No such luck. The queen stiffened at something said on the other side of the room, then Merlin heard her walk quietly away from him. Merlin distantly thought he heard Dareth tell Grayton to kill Gwaine, and his heart pounded in fear. Whatever Gwen was doing, she'd better do it fast!

Almost as if she had read his mind, Merlin heard Gwen hiss harshly, "Don't kill him!"

Whatever was going on must have scared Dareth, because he cried out, "Merlin! Stop!"

Merlin clenched his jaw in anger. The nerve of that man, to still pretend Grayton was Merlin, all to torture Merlin's friends. It was sick. Not to mention it was _his_ name. A part of his identity. He was a bit protective of it.

Merlin listened as Dareth commanded Grayton to release Arthur and Gwaine, and to allow them and Gwen to escape safely. That was good. They were out of immediate danger. That was good. And once they were gone, he could escape on his own and return to Camelot and…

And what? Everyone thought he was a sorcerer and he'd betrayed them. Well, the former was true, but he'd never, ever betray Arthur. But no one would believe him now. The king, the queen, and one of Camelot's best knights had _seen_ him betray them. There was no taking that back. He couldn't think of a way to convince them that they hadn't seen the _real_ Merlin, that he had been kidnapped and he was still just as loyal to them as always.

Merlin was so lost in these depressing thoughts that he didn't realize anyone was near him until the hood was taken off his face. Blinking in the flickering light from the chandelier, Merlin saw himself, or rather Grayton, shakily raise his hand and whisper a few words. His eyes flashed gold and Merlin felt the shackles around his wrists warp and bend off the wall. They still stayed tightly bound around his wrists, but they twisted Merlin's hands down until they were beside each other, and then melded together, freeing him from the wall but binding his hands together behind his back.

"I am so sorry Emrys," Grayton murmured to him, then said a few more words while touching the shackles. They glowed gold for a moment, then settled back down to their normal gray hue. Merlin understood. His shackles had been enchanted like the ropes had been, back when he'd first been taken here. His magic could not release him from them. Giving him another apologetic and deeply regretful look, Grayton used magic to lift him onto his feet and shove him towards Lord Dareth.

Merlin staggered, his legs weak from being out of use for two weeks. Grayton's gentle magic support saved him from falling, but it didn't keep Lord Dareth from grabbing his arm and yanking him forcefully toward the door.

"What are you doing?" he croaked as Dareth forced him onto his knees before the open door.

"I told you, servant," Dareth snarled, pulling out a knife from his belt and holding it threateningly at Merlin's throat. "You are but a means to get what I really want."

Merlin blinked and suddenly realized he could still see his friends retreating dejectedly down the tunnel.

"Arthur!" he cried, and then cursed himself. That was exactly what Dareth wanted, for Arthur to return to rescue him. But he had been so glad to finally see his king after two long, horrible weeks, and he'd been so desperate to prove he wasn't betraying them that his words got away from him.

Dareth tightened his grip on Merlin's shoulder and held the knife steady. "Oh, I don't think poor Merlin's dead yet. He's still got a lot left in him. Why don't you turn around and take a look?" the lord taunted.

_Don't, Arthur. Be a stubborn, pig-headed idiot like you usually are and don't turn around. _

Gwaine had stopped moving. Arthur said something quietly to him, but the knight didn't listen. He whirled around, and his eyes instantly found the real Merlin.

In a less grave situation, Gwaine's face would almost have been comical. His skin became pale and his eyes bulged in horror. "Merlin!"

He grabbed Arthur and turned him and Gwen around. "Gwaine, we can't-" Arthur began. Merlin felt like something in him had been crushed from the tone of Arthur's voice. He was a man broken, defeated, confused, and terribly, horribly depressed.

"Arthur, look! Just look!" Gwaine said frantically, unable to actually word what he'd seen. Almost grudgingly, the king and queen looked up. Gwen gasped and covered her mouth with her hands, her eyes suddenly filling with tears.

The expression on Arthur's face was beyond anything Merlin ever wanted to see again. It changed from bleakness to confusion to realization and then to horror and anger in less than a second. The king took a half step backwards, like he'd been given a blow to the chest, his eyes constantly bouncing between the two Merlins.

"Merlin," Arthur finally breathed, his gaze landing on the right one. The king began to shake slightly as he took in the appearance of his manservant. He raised his eyes so that he was glaring with all the ferocity of a Pendragon at Lord Dareth. "What have you done?"

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**Gah, another cliffhanger, I know! I'm sorry! Please don't kill me! Or I guess, hurt me, since killing me would make so you'd NEVER find out what happens next. But I digress. What I really want to say is please review! :D**


	16. Breaking Bonds

**And here it is! The long wait is over! The chapter I'm sure you've all been waiting for! :D**

**I hope it doesn't disappoint. I think it turned out pretty well. Thank you for all of your wonderful, thoughtful reviews! **

**Enjoy!**

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Chapter 16: Breaking Bonds

"_Merlin," Arthur finally breathed, his gaze landing on the right one. The king began to shake slightly, taking in the appearance of his manservant. He raised his eyes so that he was glaring with all the ferocity of a Pendragon at Lord Dareth. "What have you done?"_

There were very few moments in his life that Arthur had felt as angry and horrified as he did in this instant. He was still pretty bewildered as well, but as he looked at his servant held hostage by Lord Dareth, and also his servant standing beside the villainous lord, the strangeness of the situation didn't even really occur to him. All he knew was that Merlin- the _real_ Merlin, _his_ Merlin- was in danger. And he had to get him back.

Lord Dareth smirked, drinking in Arthur's expression. The knife at Merlin's neck didn't waver a bit, despite the intensity in Arthur's eyes. The lord looked over at the other Merlin, still standing silently beside him, his head lowered in shame.

"I believe it is time to reveal all, boy," Dareth shot at him. "Show our guests who you really are."

The other Merlin swallowed and nodded. He lifted his head and glanced at the real Merlin with wet eyes. Then his appearance began to change. He became shorter, his hair longer and lighter, and his blue eyes morphed into green. Soon a young man stood before Arthur, one he'd never seen before in his life.

Gwaine seemed to recognize him however. He gasped. "Grayton!" the knight cried.

Dareth laughed. "I see you have already met my son, Sir Gwaine. In fact, you have all been spending quite a lot of time with him the past two weeks. Not that you knew it, of course."

So this was the mysterious Grayton. The sorcerer who'd attacked Arthur's knights and killed Odin's councilmen. Lord Dareth's secret son. And strangely, all Arthur felt was an overwhelming sense of relief at this revelation. Merlin hadn't betrayed him. He wasn't a sorcerer. It had been Grayton all along, just impersonating the servant. Merlin was still his best, most trusted friend.

But things still didn't make much sense. How could Merlin be here? What had happened? How long had Grayton been impersonating his friend? Surely not too long, Arthur would have certainly noticed a difference in him…

But then again, he _had_ noticed a difference in him. They all had. But he'd never considered the idea that the reason Merlin was acting strange was because he wasn't Merlin.

"How… how long…?" the king stammered, finding that words were becoming increasingly difficult to get out. His hands were shaking in rage.

"Merlin has been my guest for about two weeks, I'd say. That sounds about right, wouldn't you say so?" Dareth mocked, looking down at his captive. Merlin's face had hardened into an angry mask, his eyes hard as steel. Instead of answering, he looked at Arthur.

"Arthur," he insisted, "leave me. Get out, Dareth can't do anything about-" He came to a sudden stop, gasping in pain when Dareth suddenly fisted his hair and yanked it while tightening the pressure of the knife. A jolt shot through Arthur's stomach.

"Don't hurt him!" he cried alongside Gwaine's cursing and Gwen's yelp of fear.

Never before had such guilt racked Arthur's soul. Merlin had been held captive by this evil man for two long weeks, and Arthur hadn't even known it. Hadn't even thought of it. How had that been for Merlin? To wait and wait and never have anyone come?

"You kidnapped him," Gwen said shakily, her eyes brimming with angry tears. "That night two weeks ago. And ever since it's been Grayton… Oh, Merlin," she cried softly, trembling as she looked at her friend.

"Why?" Arthur gasped. "Why would you do that? You have a sorcerer, surely there was no need for Merlin to get involved."

The king was too busy glaring at Lord Dareth to notice the way Merlin's eyes rolled slightly at the statement. Dareth loosened his grip on Merlin's hair and mussed it almost playfully, a cruel glint in his eyes.

"You don't think I would jump right into having my son impersonate you without having a little practice round, do you? I wanted to see how well Grayton's potion worked. And as is clear from your expressions, it worked very well indeed. Of course, having some sort of traumatic experience to start it off always makes the transition smoother. For you, it is going to be the death of your friends. For Merlin, it was a kidnap attempt," the lord explained calmly, still messing with Merlin's hair.

Arthur drew his sword. "Release him. Now."

"Oh, I'm afraid I can't do that. He's the only thing keeping you here, now that I was forced by your queen to order my sorcerer to allow you to escape. I made no such promise for Merlin, however. He's still mine," Dareth gloated.

Merlin was staring at Arthur with an unmatched intensity, Dareth's hand in his hair strangely not bothering him. "Get out, Arthur. He wants you to stay here. You're the king, I'm just a servant, you need to escape," he said quickly.

Arthur was at a loss. He had no idea what to do. It was true, he did need to escape. He needed to get out of here, perhaps find an allying kingdom to gain sanctuary until he could reclaim his kingdom. All of Camelot depended on it.

But he couldn't leave Merlin. He couldn't. Not after just discovering how his friend had been held captive this whole time. And he knew that if he left, nothing would be keeping Dareth from killing Merlin. It would be like ordering his friend's execution himself.

"Maybe you need a bit of persuasion," Dareth said, a bit too happily. He lifted the knife and slashed it suddenly across Merlin's cheek, carving a thin line from just below his eye to his jaw. Merlin winced but sealed his mouth, holding in a shout of pain. Blood poured from the cut and down Merlin's cheek.

Gwaine cried out and drew his sword, his eyes wide with fury. The knight charged at Lord Dareth, but before he could get within a yard of him he was pushed backwards with a blast of magic. Grayton lowered a hand shakily, his face twitching.

"Don't hurt him, please," Arthur pleaded, his resolve cracking. "I'll… I'll stay."

"No!" Merlin cried, his eyes flashing. "No, Arthur, I'll be fine, just _get out-_"

"Shut up Merlin," Arthur said, taking a step towards Lord Dareth. Inside he was cursing himself, cursing Lord Dareth, cursing Merlin for being so bloody _noble_. He was making the wrong choice, he knew it. The safety of a kingdom was much more important than the life of one man.

But this wasn't just any man. This was Merlin. And for some reason he couldn't explain, Arthur knew Merlin couldn't die. Not here and not now. Arthur hadn't realized how empty he'd been feeling these past two weeks until he'd discovered that Merlin hadn't been with him the entire time. It was like half of him had been missing. And there was no way he was going to let that half go missing again now that he'd just got it back.

"Arthur-" Gwen cried, trying to grab at his arm. He shrugged her off. He didn't mean to push her away, but he couldn't afford for anyone to interfere right now. This was between him, Dareth, and Merlin.

"Excellent, young king," Dareth drawled, releasing his grip on Merlin and pushing him to the ground. Unable to catch himself, Merlin landed painfully on his shoulder. "I am glad that you will stay. But the other two must remain as well, I'm afraid. I can't allow them to go blabbing about everything that has occurred here."

"No," Arthur said firmly, his eyes flashing behind him at Gwen and Gwaine. "They go free, or I don't stay."

"You don't stay, I kill Merlin," Dareth shot back. "The decision is all yours."

It was an impossible choice. Whatever he chose, someone close to him would die. And if he chose Merlin, Arthur would be kept as a captive the rest of his life, alone in the dark. Besides, chances are Dareth would kill Merlin anyway, once he got Arthur detained, and Gwen and Gwaine besides.

If he'd still been a prince when this choice had been presented to him, Arthur was sure he would've chosen Merlin without a second thought. But he was the king now. He had to think beyond himself and his own wishes, and choosing that which would most benefit the kingdom. That meant sometimes he had to make sacrifices. He'd known that long before he'd even been coronated.

But never had he imagined he would have to sacrifice Merlin.

Swallowing hard, his hands shaking, Arthur sheathed his sword. He looked at Merlin, lying awkwardly on the ground with his hands bound behind his back. The cut on his face was still oozing blood, but at least it was the cheek nearest the floor so his entire face wasn't coated in it. The king met his servant's eyes.

"I'm sorry Merlin," he said quietly. He couldn't say anything else.

Merlin's face instantly relaxed, like this was what he was hoping to hear. He managed a grin. "Oh, don't worry about me, sire. I'll meet you when you get outside." The glint in his eyes almost made Arthur think he knew something no one else here did.

Dareth was looking from master to servant with a dawning look of disbelief and outrage. For once, he seemed unable to summon up a mocking comment.

"Grayton, force the king to remain here!" he cried frantically. Grayton looked up at his father, a shadow of a smile twitching at his lips.

"I can't. You told me that no matter what you said afterwards, to not interfere with King Arthur, Queen Guinevere, and Sir Gwaine's escape. So I can't do anything to keep them here," he said smugly, as if he were proud to one-up his father.

Dareth cried out in frustration as Arthur slowly backed up into the tunnel again. Guinevere was instantly by his side, tears streaming openly down her cheeks as she watched Merlin. Gwaine was staring in fury into the throne room, but his shoulders were slumped in defeat. Arthur could sense the knight knew that he couldn't save his friend. He had no way to battle magic, and if he charged in there he'd just be blasted back out again.

Dareth was looking around the room frantically, his usual calm and collected persona cracking to show the madness beneath.

"Grayton, torture the servant! Make him scream!" Lord Dareth cried, his eyes wild. Grayton's pleased look vanished, replaced with horror.

Arthur froze in his tracks, shaking. Guinevere gasped beside him, her hand tightening like a vice on his arm. Gwaine lost control again and charged the room, only to be repelled again by Grayton.

Arthur swallowed hard, and then he slowly and deliberately forced himself to turn away from the throne room. He couldn't let Dareth get to him. No matter what. Camelot was more important. He had to save Camelot.

"No, no, please don't make me, I don't want to-" Arthur heard Grayton stammer.

"DO IT!" Dareth screamed.

_Camelot. Camelot. I have to save Camelot. I'm the king._

A series of strange, alien words came out of Grayton's mouth. Gwen's grip on Arthur's arm tightened even more, like she was trying to keep herself from turning back. Gwaine, however, had no such resolve. Almost the instant the words escaped Grayton's mouth the knight yelled in rage and turned back towards the throne room, hurtling forwards furiously.

Arthur had to stop him. He couldn't leave Gwaine here too. He turned, his eyes lowered in the hopes that he could avoid the scene, maybe still convince himself to leave.

_I must save Camelot. I'm the king. My kingdom is more important than… than…_

It didn't work. The moment Arthur turned back his eyes landed inadvertently on Merlin. Grayton was standing above him, a hand splayed out overtop the servant's writhing body. Merlin's eyes were wide with pain, and his body was jerking about uncontrollably. Yet somehow he was keeping his mouth miraculously closed.

Arthur felt an icy dagger stab him in the heart. Even now, when he was being abandoned by his friends and tortured, Merlin was thinking of others. He was keeping himself from screaming, knowing it would tempt Arthur to change his mind.

"SCREAM, BOY! SCREAM!" Dareth cried, rushing towards the writhing servant. He kicked him hard in the side, and Arthur heard a sickening crack. Merlin's silence was finally broken, a strangled cry of pain escaping his lips.

_Camelot. Camelot. Camelot…. _

Merlin.

Fury beyond anything he had ever known consumed Arthur. Later, he could honestly attest that he had not been in control of his own actions.

Screaming in rage, the king charged towards Lord Dareth, his sword held high. He somehow managed to actually get to the lord without Grayton intervening. He slashed with Excalibur, not really caring or knowing where it would land. He vaguely heard Gwaine cheering him on and Gwen pleading for them to stop hurting Merlin, but all he could see was Lord Dareth's suddenly widening eyes as he noticed the enraged king.

"Grayton!" Dareth screamed, dodging Arthur's initial blow. The lord wasn't carrying a sword. He must have been so certain of his son's protection he didn't think one was necessary. The young sorcerer removed his hand from above Merlin instantly and instead flicked his hand reluctantly at Arthur, pushing the king back towards the tunnel. Merlin collapsed onto the stone floor, trembling. His breathing came in gasping pants.

"No… Ar..thur… get… out..." he stammered, his eyelids fluttering.

Safe once again, Dareth straightened. He pointed at Merlin. "More! Do it again!" he cried. Even from the tunnel entrance, Arthur could see the insanity brimming in the lord's eyes.

Grayton stared at his father with ice in his expression. Something had hardened in his eyes, something that made the scared, helpless, weepy boy disappear.

"I hate you," he said, his voice hard and cold. Then without looking he raised his hand above Merlin and spoke the words of magic again.

This time Merlin wasn't able to hold back at all. The moment Grayton's magic descended on him, he began to cry out in anguish, his body jerking. He arched his back and kicked his legs, his hands thrashing uncontrollably in their bonds.

"No! Stop it!" Arthur screamed. He ran towards his servant, but he was pushed away at the last moment. "Merlin!"

"I can make it stop, Arthur Pendragon," Dareth called to him. "All you and your friends need to do is stay with me."

Merlin's screams intensified. His eyes became glassy with pain. He rolled around on the ground, the blood from the cut on his cheek smearing over the rest of his face and the stone floor beneath him.

"I'll kill you!" Gwaine screamed at the lord. "I'LL KILL YOU!"

Dareth just smirked. "You've already attempted that, Sir Gwaine. You can't get to me without going through my sorcerer first."

Arthur stiffened. His heart hammered in his chest like a drum. That was it. They had to defeat Grayton first. Dareth was defenseless without his son. Arthur was a bit dubious about head-on attacking a powerful sorcerer with nothing but a sword, but one more glance at Merlin convinced him. The young man's convulsions were weakening, his eyelids fighting to stay open. Arthur didn't know if he was fighting with unconsciousness, or something far worse, but either way he knew now was the time to act.

The king looked at Gwaine and Gwen, both of whom seemed to understand instantly. "I'll lead, he doesn't want to have me killed," the king whispered to them. Gwen's face paled a bit, but she nodded. Gwaine clutched his sword, itching to go.

Arthur gave them a nod, and without warning the three of them charged Grayton.

* * *

Merlin could barely make sense of what was going on. He felt strangely detached, like he wasn't even in his own body. He could tell he was trembling and there was darkness clouding into his mind, trying to put him under.

_No._ He'd been helpless long enough.

Forcing his eyes open, Merlin watched in terror and fascination as Arthur, Gwen, and Gwaine charged towards Grayton, swords held high and determination on their faces. Grayton didn't notice until Arthur was nearly upon him. He ducked under the king's first blow and swept him across the room with a flash of his eyes, only to have Gwaine take Arthur's place and Gwen sweep in from the side.

Merlin wasn't sure if he should be grateful or terrified. He knew Grayton didn't want to harm anyone, but he had no control over himself. If Dareth commanded him, he'd have no choice but to kill or seriously harm the king, queen, and knight.

Merlin knew he should help, but his mind was still hazy from the pain he'd just been in. There was also a sharp, stinging ache in his side, where Dareth had kicked him. The warlock was pretty sure he'd broken or at least bruised some ribs. And the slice across his face stung pretty bad.

But pain was something Merlin was used to dealing with. More than often he'd gotten injured or hurt while defending Camelot, and he'd have to hide it in order to maintain his secret. Swallowing hard, Merlin pushed past his protesting body and tried to clear his mind. He probed for his magic, and found it bubbling up inside of him, just as full and alive as it usually was.

Time for Emrys to save the day again.

Lifting his head a bit to see better, Merlin watched the fighting again. Thankfully, no one had gotten hurt so far. Watching his friends charge towards Grayton and time after time get shoved back, Merlin realized the young sorcerer was actually trying to be gentle. He couldn't not fight back, as per his father's orders, no doubt, but he also didn't want to hurt them.

Merlin's heart ached for Grayton. What kind of a life had he had? Bound as a slave to his own father ever since he was a child, forced to commit horrible deeds. All Merlin felt was sympathy for the boy. He knew that Arthur was trying to kill Grayton, and Merlin was afraid that that might be the only way to stop Dareth. To get rid of his greatest weapon. Perhaps it would even end up being a mercy, finally releasing Grayton from his father's will.

Wait. His _father's_ will. He was bound to do what Dareth told him. But if there was no one he was bound to, Grayton would be a free man…

Grayton didn't need to die. Lord Dareth did. And now, with everyone distracted with the fight, would be the perfect time to arrange such a thing.

Merlin tried to ignore the roiling guilt he was already feeling in his gut at the thought. He didn't like killing, even when the victim deserved it as badly as Dareth did. But this was out of control. He had no other choice. Lord Dareth's death would rescue Arthur, Gwen, Gwaine, all of Camelot, himself, and Grayton. He was an evil man who had committed evil things, and horribly abused his only child. He needed to be dealt with.

Just as Merlin was about to roll over and look around the room for where the lord was standing, Dareth came to him. He grabbed Merlin by his hair and pulled him up off the floor, the warlock gasping in pain at the yanking on his scalp and the renewed jolts of pain shooting through his injured ribs. Once off the ground, Dareth grabbed hold of his arms and dragged him towards the back of the room, heading to one of the other doors.

"No," Merlin grunted, struggling weakly against Dareth's grip. His eyes flashed gold for a moment, making Dareth stumble and lose hold of his prisoner. Merlin fell onto the ground again, cringing from the impact. Dareth barely paused. He recovered and grabbed Merlin's arms again, still dragging him away from the fight.

"You are the only bargaining tool I have left," Dareth breathed, desperation filling his voice. "You are coming with me."

A plan began to form in Merlin's head. If Dareth was taking him away, he'd be alone with the villainous lord. He could kill him with magic without anyone seeing. A small, ironic grin slipped onto his face. Lord Dareth had no idea he was taking himself to his doom.

Of course, it was then that Arthur noticed what was happening behind him.

"Merlin!" he cried, abandoning the fight with Grayton and rushing towards his servant. Dareth gripped Merlin tighter and hurried towards the door, managing to make it out just before the king could reach them. The lord slammed the door shut right in Arthur's horrified face, his mouth forming the name of his servant.

It was pitch black. Dareth grabbed Merlin and continued to drag him down the tunnel, somehow seeming to know his way even in the darkness. Merlin gathered his magic together and was about to blast Dareth when the door crashed open with a bang, revealing in the dim light from the throne room Arthur charging down the tunnel with fire in his eyes. Dareth yanked Merlin up and held him against himself like a human shield, his knife drawn again and at the young man's throat.

Arthur came up short. He glared at Dareth, his body shaking in rage. "Don't you dare harm him," the king seethed. Dareth let out a short laugh.

"Or what? WHAT, King Arthur? You'll kill me?" Dareth let out another laugh, his eyes rolling. "I am in control! I have all the power! Nothing can stand in my way!"

"Arthur, please , just get out," Merlin gasped out quickly, the sharp edge of the knife dangerously close to his throat. If he could just get Arthur to turn away, just for a moment, that would be enough. He could take care of Dareth and they'd all be free to go.

"Shut up Merlin," Arthur shot back. His expression didn't falter a bit. "I am giving you one last chance, Lord Dareth. Let. Him. Go."

Dareth started backing away from Arthur, going farther down the tunnel. He gripped Merlin tighter, and the warlock could feel the man shaking.

"You want me to let him go. To release him. But I can't. He is my power. He is my control over you. I need him," the lord ranted.

Arthur raised his sword and took a step forward. "Have fun in hell," he said coldly, poising to strike.

Dareth moved so suddenly even Merlin didn't have time to react. In a moment of pure insanity, the lord screamed and lifted the knife high, his hand shaking violently, and brought it down into Merlin's shoulder.

Merlin felt strangely numb, despite the fact he screamed in pain and lost the ability to stand. His system was so shocked he couldn't feel any of the pain he knew he must be feeling. Arthur screamed and swung at the lord, but in his rage he lost accuracy and it came nowhere near to Dareth.

The lord was shaking still, giggling slightly as he stared at the blood soaking Merlin's shirt. "How long do you think he'll last now, King Arthur?" he taunted.

Merlin distantly thought he could see someone else enter the tunnel from the throne room doors, but his mind was becoming so hazy he couldn't know for sure. The blood oozing down his chest was wet and warm.

Arthur noticed the newcomer as well, and turned to face him. Since the king almost immediately cried out in rage and charged the figure, Merlin thought it was most likely Grayton.

"How does it feel to know you're going to die down here, Merlin?" the lord whispered in his ear. "To know you'll never see the light of day again?"

"H…how does it feel to know your son is keeping secrets from you?" Merlin countered, his voice croaky.

Dareth stiffened. He turned Merlin around and pushed him up against the tunnel wall, one of his hands pressing excruciatingly against the stab wound in his shoulder. Merlin gasped, but he swallowed the pain down. He felt his magic tickling the tips of his fingers.

"What are you talking about?" Dareth seethed.

"You… you don't know why he… told you to drug me, do you?" Merlin said, the words struggling to make their way out of his mouth.

"It doesn't matter! You didn't escape! I will be victorious!" Dareth said, as if he were trying to convince himself.

Merlin narrowed his eyes. He concentrated. A moment later he felt the familiar rush of warmth, the golden power streaking through his veins. His irises filled with gold and without a word he threw Dareth away from him, sending him crashing against the wall on the other side of the tunnel.

Dareth stared in shock at the warlock, his mind struggling to understand. Then his mouth fell open into a horrible, terrifying, insane grin. "You're a sorcerer! You have magic! You… you…"

The lord fell into uncontrollable fits of laughter, his echoing cries of mirth filling the tunnel. Arthur froze in his attack, looking back at the scene. His eyes flitted over Merlin with concern, the look hardening into hatred when it fell on Lord Dareth.

"King Arthur! Your… manservant… has MAGIC!" the deranged lord cried, his eyes wide as he rolled around on the floor, fits of laughter racking his body.

Merlin looked at his friend warily, his heart fluttering like a bird against his chest. Had Arthur seen him use magic? Would he believe Lord Dareth?

Arthur looked down at the lord in disgust. "Enough of this," he said simply. Then he stepped forward and plunged his sword into Dareth's chest.

The laughing stopped instantly.

* * *

**Hooray! Dareth the stink-lord is dead! Honestly, I was as excited to do away with him as you all. I don't know why my mind comes up with such nasty people. But anyway! Thank you for reading, and please review! :D**


	17. A Lucky Man

**Here's chapter 17! I apologize about the long wait. My reason? College! Ga! But it's alright, I promise I'm not abandoning this story. There's only one chapter to go anyways... Kinda makes me sad. This has been fun. **

**Thanks so much to all my reviewers! I'm glad you liked the last chapter so much.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 17: A Lucky Man

Arthur pulled Excalibur out of Lord Dareth's body without even flinching. Without another thought he sheathed his sword and hurried to his manservant, who had sunk to the floor of the tunnel, his breaths coming out in harsh pants. He didn't notice the way Grayton seemed stunned, staring at the body of his father lying lifeless on the floor with disbelief and dawning joy.

"Merlin," Arthur said, putting a hand on his friend's uninjured shoulder. Now that the adrenaline and rage from the fight was over, the king's crushing guilt was returning, only this time it was coupled with relief. Dareth was dead. The immediate danger was over. Of course, Merlin's life wasn't exactly safe yet, considering the wound he'd just acquired, but at least he no longer had a knife to his throat. "Merlin, can you hear me?"

The young man's eyes were closed, but his mouth quirked into a small grin at Arthur's voice. "Loud and clear, you prat."

Arthur didn't even try to disguise his sigh of relief. He pushed Merlin forward slightly, away from the wall, so he could get to the shackles binding his hands together. Arthur frowned when he looked at them. They didn't look any different from regular handcuffs, but there was some sort of power coming from them, a strange sort of force that Arthur could feel.

"These are enchanted, aren't they?" he asked, reaching out and picking at them a bit. Merlin nodded in assent, his head lowering sleepily onto his chest. Panic gripped Arthur. "Hey, no falling asleep on me, you lazy idiot," he said quickly, shaking Merlin's shoulder slightly.

A small gasp of pain escaped Merlin's mouth and his eyes fluttered open, wincing. "My ribs," he croaked.

Arthur cursed himself and laid Merlin gently back against the wall. He'd forgotten about Merlin's possibly broken ribs.

"Sorry, sorry," he said quickly. He moved to Merlin's other shoulder, trying to get a better view of the wound, but it was too dark in the tunnel to really make anything out clearly. Merlin's face was deathly white from blood loss. Arthur knew he needed to bind the wound to stop the bleeding before it became deadly, but he couldn't do it here.

"Lord Dareth…" Merlin muttered.

"He's dead, Merlin. I killed him. You don't need to worry about him anymore," Arthur reassured him. "Now come on, I need to get you back to the throne room, it's lighter in there-"

"Wh…what happened? What did you see?" Merlin managed, his tone strangely urgent. Arthur put one arm under Merlin's knees and another along his back, lifting him and starting to walk back to the throne room. A wave of disgust rushed through the king as he recalled the scene. Dareth lying on the floor, clearly insane, rolling about in laughter as he screamed that Merlin had magic.

That had been the last straw for Arthur. It was bad enough to have a sorcerer impersonate Merlin and make it appear that he was betraying Camelot and using magic, but it was simply cruel to bring back those emotions by mocking Arthur, telling him Merlin had magic. It was enough to make him sick.

"Nothing important," Arthur replied. If Merlin wasn't clear on what happened, that was alright with him. He didn't think his servant would be very happy to know what Dareth's dying words had been.

Merlin seemed to relax a bit, tension draining away from his pained expression. "But Dareth's dead?" he said.

"Yes. He's dead," Arthur affirmed. Merlin nodded, a large smile flitting across his face. Arthur made it to the throne room and walked to the wooden throne in the middle, laying his servant down propped up against it. In the better light Arthur could see the wound in Merlin's shoulder more distinctly, blood coating that entire side of his shirt. If you could call the rags he was wearing a shirt.

In the background Arthur could hear banging and what sounded like muffled yelling coming from the main door. The king stiffened, his hand on his sword. What if it was Dareth's men, returning from searching the forest?

But then he heard a familiar voice curse loudly and another plead sincerely for the door to open. It was Gwaine and Guinevere.

Double checking that Merlin was safely propped up, Arthur hurried to the door and heaved it open. Gwaine stumbled in off balance, probably from leaning on the door and then having it open unexpectedly. Gwen came in after him, hurrying to Arthur.

"Arthur, what happened? Where's Merlin? Where's Dareth?" she cried out.

"That sorcerer locked us out!" Gwaine cried in frustration. "He just shoved us both into the tunnel and slammed the door in our face!"

"Dareth's dead," Arthur told them. "I killed him myself. But we need to hurry, Merlin's been stabbed and his ribs are possibly broken, we need to get him to Camelot-"

Arthur froze when he turned and saw that Merlin was no longer alone. Grayton was kneeling beside him, his eyes glowing gold.

Almost simultaneously Arthur and Gwaine drew their swords and charged towards the sorcerer.

"Get away from him!" Arthur screamed. He'd forgotten about Grayton. A feeling of dread settled in his stomach. How on earth were they supposed to fight a sorcerer?

Grayton stood up quickly and backed away from Merlin, his hands raised in surrender. "I just want to help!" he cried.

"Of course you do," Gwaine said mockingly, his sword pointed threateningly at the young man. "That's why you kidnapped Merlin and impersonated him, mortally injured my friends, and allowed your father to march his army in and take over Camelot."

Arthur knelt beside Merlin, checking him over for any signs of further injury. What had that sorcerer been doing to him?

Grayton swallowed hard. "I never meant for any of those things to happen, I swear. I was bound to my father, I had no choice-"

"I should kill you!" Gwaine continued, stepping closer to Grayton. The boy took a step back, his hands still raised in surrender. He looked pleadingly toward Merlin, like he was hoping the servant would jump to his defense.

"Please… I want to heal Merlin. He is badly injured, he may not survive the travel back to Camelot. Please, I just want to help," he pleaded.

Something in Arthur's heart stirred at the tone of Grayton's voice. He remembered the conversation he'd had with the sorcerer the night before, when he still thought he was Merlin. What had the young man said?

_"You are such a great man, Arthur Pendragon. You truly are the Once and Future King. I am so grateful I had the chance to meet you. Please know that whatever happens in the future, I am deeply sorry..."_

Arthur looked at Merlin. His face had grown even paler and the bleeding still had not stopped. His eyelids were fluttering again, his blue eyes growing glassy. Grayton was right. He most likely would not survive the travel back to Camelot. And even if he did, what would they do then? Camelot was still taken by Dareth's men. They had no way of knowing their leader had been killed. There was no way Arthur could somehow sneak Merlin into the city and to Gaius.

Desperation gripped the king's mind. What was he supposed to do? Grayton was a sorcerer, a sorcerer that had worked for Lord Dareth, that was Lord Dareth's _son_. But he had always shown a sort of gentleness about him, along with deep sadness and regret. He clearly hadn't wanted to do the things his father told him to do. But he did them anyway. What did it all mean?

Arthur grabbed at Merlin's hand lying limply beside him. He couldn't let Merlin die. Not after all this. Not after he'd saved him. He couldn't return to Camelot without him…

Suddenly, Arthur realized something. Merlin's hands were free. They were no longer bound behind his back by enchanted shackles.

The king looked up at Grayton. "Did you free his hands?"

Grayton looked away from Gwaine, his green eyes meeting Arthur's. Gratitude reflected in them as he spoke. "Yes. My father no longer has a hold on me, thanks to you. I removed the shackles from Merlin's hands. He is free to go with you."

"Why?" was all Arthur managed in return. He could not understand why a sorcerer could turn sides so suddenly. Weren't all magic users evil? Didn't they _like_ causing people pain and anguish?

Grayton smiled a little. "He is a good man, and I know how much he means to you. My time in Camelot has taught me that, and much more. I know you are a good man, King Arthur, and a blessed leader. You will be the greatest king this land will ever know, and whether you believe it or not you need Merlin to get you there. I want to help you. I removed his shackles, and now I want to heal him. Please, sire."

Gwaine glanced at Arthur with confusion in his eyes. Gwen walked closer to her husband, a hand outstretched to comfort him. Arthur just stared at Grayton. He was at a complete loss. This was perhaps the very _last_ thing he had ever expected to hear from a sorcerer.

"I… I don't…" he started.

"I trust him Arthur," came a scratchy, whispered voice behind him. Merlin.

Arthur's head whipped around to his servant. He hadn't thought he was aware enough to speak. "Merlin-"

"I trust him," Merlin repeated. "Do you trust me?"

Merlin's blue eyes seemed to see right through Arthur. The king returned his gaze with equal intensity.

"You know I do."

"Then let him heal… me…" Merlin managed, his eyes falling closed. His head slumped forward onto his chest, unconscious. The blood loss must have finally gotten to him.

Arthur swallowed hard. He tried very hard not to think that those would be his best friend's last words.

"Let the sorcerer past, Gwaine," he commanded, his voice weak. Gwaine still looked dubious, but he obeyed his king, lowering his sword. Grayton hurried to Merlin, kneeling beside the king at the unconscious man's side.

Grayton closed his eyes and concentrated, putting a hand on Merlin's shoulder. He muttered some strange words that made Arthur shudder inadvertently. For a moment he almost regretted letting the sorcerer anywhere near Merlin. What if he wasn't healing him? What if he was making it worse? Killing him?

But then Grayton removed his hand, his eyes changing back from gold to green. The bleeding had stopped, and while the wound was still there it looked like it had been healing for several days. Merlin sighed in his sleep and seemed to relax a little, a bit of color already returning to his face.

Arthur looked at Grayton, hoping his face could relate what he couldn't seem to form into words. How, exactly, do you thank a sorcerer who a few minutes ago had been attacking you, but now had just saved the life of your best friend?

Grayton seemed to understand Arthur's problem. He gave him a small smile. "I would heal the rest of his wounds, but I need to save my energy if I am to draw my father's army out of Camelot," he said, standing up and brushing his hands off on his pants. "Merlin's life is not in any danger now, he should be able to make the journey safely."

"Th…thank you," Arthur stammered, his mind frozen. Then he realized what the sorcerer had just told him. "You… you are going to get Dareth's army out of Camelot?"

Grayton looked solemnly down at the king. "I will do whatever I can to make amends for my actions and the actions of my father. Besides, you can't take Camelot back on your own. There's no way just the three of you could take down the army." His eyes flitted for a moment over Merlin, a small knowing smile on his face.

Gwaine was staring in shock at the young sorcerer. "But… but you… you attacked us!" the knight managed.

Grayton swallowed hard, but kept his eyes level with Gwaine's. "Not of my own volition. I never wanted to harm anyone, I promise. But I am wasting time. Begin traveling back to Camelot, and I promise by the time you get there it will be free."

Grayton turned toward the main door, an almost joyful skip in his step. As he walked away, Arthur could see a huge, glowing smile burst onto his face. The sorcerer stopped at the door and turned to look at the king again, his eyes glowing with relief and happiness.

"Besides, it'll probably be pretty fun. Freeing Camelot, I mean." He looked at Arthur again. "You are a lucky man to have a friend like Merlin, King Arthur."

Arthur's mouth felt dry. He looked away from the sorcerer, his eyes landing on the sleeping form of his brother beside him.

"I know," he said simply, the smallest of smiles twitching at his lips. When he looked back up, Grayton had disappeared down the tunnel.

There was a moment of heavy silence.

"Well, that was sure… different," Gwaine said slowly.

"We should get out of this place," Guinevere said carefully, kneeling beside Merlin and examining her friend. "Merlin may not be in danger of dying anymore but he's still injured. And after being stuck in this room for two weeks I have no doubt he'd like to get outside."

Arthur nodded. He reached down and lifted Merlin again, holding him tight to his chest.

"Yes. Let's take him home."

* * *

It took a few days for Arthur, Gwen, Gwaine, and Merlin to make it back to Camelot. Merlin remained unconscious for most of the trip, which at first greatly worried Arthur. Usually remaining under like this for so long was not a good sign. But instead of getting progressively worse, Merlin seemed to be getting better and better with each day. Arthur guessed it must have had something to do with the spell Grayton had used. Maybe it was continuing to heal his friend even after he had left them.

This greatly confused Arthur. Not that he wasn't grateful. He just truly didn't understand. Never before had he seen a sorcerer have such plain, pure, _good_ intentions. Of course, it could all be pretend, another deception. Sorcerers were always doing that. But for some reason, Arthur found that difficult to swallow this time around.

Grayton had had them cornered. There was no way Arthur, Gwen, and Gwaine would have been able to fight him off. He hadn't had to let them go, but he did anyway. In fact, he seemed glad to do it. And the sorcerer hadn't needed to heal Merlin, either. He already was allowing them to leave, it wasn't any of Grayton's business whether Merlin survived or not. The servant had even been his father's prisoner for two weeks, and still he wanted to heal him.

_It wouldn't surprise me if the two of them had somehow become friends,_ Arthur thought, amused. That certainly seemed like something that would happen to Merlin. He gets kidnapped, he makes a friend.

The king glanced over at Merlin, who was being carried by Gwaine for the time being. The two of them traded off carrying the sleeping servant. Arthur hadn't wanted to give him up, but Merlin's weight had begun to get too tiring for him to carry. He'd had no choice, and Gwaine had been more than happy to help. Arthur had a feeling he wasn't alone in the crushing guilt filling his heart.

How could he have not noticed Merlin wasn't with them? What kind of a king was he, to not even notice when his own servant was kidnapped? What kind of a _friend_ was he? Arthur was positive beyond a shadow of a doubt that if the same had happened to him, that he'd been kidnapped and someone was impersonating him, that Merlin would have noticed right away. Why couldn't he do the same for his friend?

But something else was bothering him almost as greatly. Grayton was a sorcerer, and he'd done terrible things. But in the end, it was because Grayton helped them that Merlin had survived. And if the sorcerer did what he said, it was also thanks to him that Arthur would get his kingdom back. The evil in this circumstance hadn't been the sorcerer, Grayton. It had been Lord Dareth, a man without a magical bone in his body. Magic had not been the root of the problem. It had simply been a tool, a means for an evil man to do evil things. Grayton clearly hadn't wanted to do what his father said.

The sure, strong foundation Arthur had been standing on since childhood began to crumble a little. How could this be? Magic itself was _not _evil? It was only evil when used in evil ways? That… just didn't seem right. But in this situation, it was the only conclusion he could draw.

The sound of horses galloping near made Arthur freeze. Gwaine came up short beside him, quickly laying down Merlin and drawing his sword in case there was trouble. Gwen drew her sword as well, placing herself beside her husband and knight. Arthur tensed, ready for the worst.

"Sire!" the king heard a man cry.

"We found them!" another chimed in, calling to others behind him. A wave of great relief washed over him. Beside him Guinevere openly sighed and lowered her sword, a lovely smile cracking on her beautiful face.

Grayton had followed through. Camelot's patrol was here to greet them.

"Took you long enough!" Gwaine cried excitedly at the patrol nearing them, all wearing red capes with the Pendragon crest.

Arthur sheathed Excalibur and walked over to Merlin. The young man was stirring slightly, his eyes open just a bit.

"What's happening?" he croaked.

"They found us, Merlin," Arthur replied, leaning down and propping Merlin up. "You're safe now."

Merlin looked up at him, his eyes smiling. "It's about time. I'm exhausted."

"You're exhausted?" Arthur countered. "You've been asleep for the past few days, Gwaine and I have had to lug your useless weight all the way back to Camelot."

"Hey, I'm the one injured here," Merlin replied. "Don't insult the injured man."

"Only an idiot would use an excuse like that, _Mer_lin," Arthur shot back. The patrol was nearly to them.

"You really need to come up with a new name, sire," Merlin replied, his eyes fluttering shut again. "Anyone can call someone an idiot, it takes no creativity."

"Would you rather me call you a clotpole then?" the king shot back, smiling widely. Arthur felt Merlin's body begin to go slack. He was almost asleep again.

"That's… my word," Merlin managed before drifting off again. There was a peaceful smile on his face.

Something seemed to fill a small hole in Arthur's heart. He'd missed Merlin. He'd missed him a_ lot_, and he hadn't even known he was missing him until he was back.

Arthur helped the patrol load Merlin up onto a horse along with one of the knights, then he, Gwen, and Gwaine joined the other three members of the patrol. They were safe. Merlin was fine. Things were going to be alright.

* * *

**Yay, people are happy! Everyone's safe! Not a cliffhanger! Show your appreciation by reviewing! Please? :)**


	18. The Dawn is in Sight

**So here it is! The final chapter! *sob***

**Thank you to all of those who read all along with me from the beginning. I really appreciate your support and am so grateful for all your lovely reviews. I hope this chapter satisfies and explains anything that might still be fuzzy for you. If you still have questions after reading this, feel free to PM me and I'll try to clarify. **

**Enjoy the final chapter of Shell Shocked!**

* * *

Chapter 18: The Dawn is in Sight

Merlin recovered quickly under Gaius's care. It turned out his ribs weren't broken, just badly bruised. Thanks to Grayton, the stab in his shoulder healed quickly and cleanly with nothing but a small white scar to show it had ever even happened. He was still extremely exhausted and suffered from hunger and dehydration, but after a day or two of sleep and a few healing potions Gaius concocted, the warlock was almost as good as new.

Leon, Percival, and Elyan were doing much better as well. None of them would be training for a while still, but thankfully Gaius had been able to continue tending to them while Camelot was controlled by Dareth's men. All three of them were expected to make a full, yet long, recovery.

In truth, Merlin was actually quite relieved when he was finally able to return to his regular duties. It meant things were going back to normal, and he wanted normality more than anything else right now.

Which was why Merlin was quite disturbed when Arthur simply stood and watched him as he worked on cleaning his room his first day back. The king didn't say a thing, he just stood there, staring at his servant with an intense look on his face.

"Got something on your mind, sire?" Merlin asked finally, not able to bear the strange silence filling the room. The king didn't respond. He swallowed and chewed the inside of his cheek, but no words came out of his mouth.

Merlin raised his eyebrows. "Alright then, you don't have to tell me. That's fine," he said, as nonchalantly as he could. He finished making Arthur's bed and walked over to his desk, ready to clear off any old dishes still left there from breakfast. "Really, it's fine with me if you just stand there and stare, not strange at all. Doesn't disturb me in the slightest. Really."

Still nothing.

"Not even going to tell me to shut up then? Alright, I guess that's you giving me permission to keep talking. Maybe you actually missed my prattle those two weeks I was stuck in Lord Dareth's underground castle, and you're trying to make up for lost time. That would make some sense I suppose, although you don't seem to enjoy it very much when I _am_ here so really, I have no idea-"

Arthur suddenly grabbed his arm and turned him around. Merlin dropped the plates he'd just picked up. "Aw, now Arthur, you made me drop-"

Merlin stopped. The king's expression brought everything to a standstill. His face was strangely empty, but his eyes were full of remorse. Merlin thought they even looked a little bit wet.

"Arthur?" Merlin said gently, concern for his friend bubbling up in his chest. The king's face twitched.

"Two weeks. Two weeks, Merlin," Arthur said quietly, his voice trembling. "How could I have not noticed you'd been kidnapped?"

Finally Merlin understood. Arthur was still beating himself up about not knowing Merlin had been captured. Knowing his friend, Merlin was certain he was blaming himself for the entire ordeal.

"It's not your fault," Merlin said firmly. "How could you have known?"

Arthur's grip on his arm tightened, but not uncomfortably so. "I should have known Grayton wasn't you. I should have figured it all out. Merlin, you almost died."

"And you almost became a prisoner for the rest of your life. Honestly, I'm not sure that's any better than dying," Merlin countered. Arthur shook his head.

"It's not the same-"

"But it doesn't matter. Neither happened, Arthur. I'm alive. I'm here. It's alright." Merlin wasn't sure if his words were getting through to the king. Arthur's face was growing slightly harder with each moment.

"But it _does_ matter Merlin! It does! What if something like this happens again?" he cried.

"Then we'll know what to do," Merlin responded quickly. "Really, Arthur, don't beat yourself up over this. It's not your fault."

"But it sure _feels_ like it is!" Arthur shot at him, his mask cracking a bit. "And I was going to leave you there, Merlin. I was going to walk away and let Dareth kill you. How could I have done that?"

He let go of Merlin's arm and sank down into the chair at his desk, his head in his hands. Merlin didn't wait to respond.

"I told you to leave me, Arthur. And if it happened all over again, I'd still say the same thing. Camelot is far more important than any one man within it."

"For once, stop being such a selfless idiot, would you?" Arthur snapped, looking up suddenly from his hands. His blue eyes stared into Merlin's with such intensity he almost took a step back. "In case you hadn't noticed, I am _trying_ to apologize! Is it so wrong for me to want to express how upset I was to discover that my… best friend had been held captive for two weeks, without my even knowing? And that I almost had to leave you there…"

Despite the situation, Merlin felt touched. It was a rare thing for Arthur to blurt out his feelings like this. He also felt a little abashed. He should have been more careful in his approach. He should have realized how much this whole thing had hurt Arthur.

"I don't in any way hold you responsible, Arthur," he said carefully, stepping forward. "But if it would put your mind at ease, know that I forgive you. You have no reason to feel any guilt, my friend."

Arthur was silent for a long moment. He sighed heavily and looked away from his servant. Merlin saw him open and close his mouth a few times, as if he was attempting to say something, but nothing came out. Merlin reached out and put a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"You'll be alright, Arthur," he said assuredly.

Slowly, almost imperceptibly Arthur nodded his head. He met Merlin's gaze again, and Merlin gave him a grin. A small smile grew on Arthur's face in return.

"Thank you Merlin," the king said quietly.

"Anytime, sire," Merlin responded. He moved back to the desk and leaned down to the floor to pick up the dishes he'd dropped. "Well, now I've got to go take these to the kitchen for cleaning, so I'd better-"

"Merlin, can I ask you something?" Arthur said, suddenly looking thoughtful.

"You need my permission to ask me a question now, Arthur?" Merlin shot back, his eyebrow quirked. But the king still didn't appear to be in a joking mood. His forehead was creased and his eyes were narrowed in confusion.

"It's about… about Grayton."

That was certainly not what Merlin had expected. "What about him?"

Arthur hesitated before responding. "He seemed like… like a good man," the king finally got out.

Merlin wasn't sure where this conversation was going. "Yes, he is a good man. He was controlled by Lord Dareth until you killed him. He never wanted to do all of those horrible things."

"You two… were friends?" Arthur asked cautiously. Alright, now Merlin _really_ didn't know where this was going.

"I… suppose. I really didn't see him much, but he was always good to me."

"You said you trusted him."

"I do," Merlin said. "He never gave me any reason not to."

"He healed you," Arthur said, as if confirming it to himself. "He saved your life. And he let us leave when he could have kept us there. He saved Camelot."

Despite himself, for a moment Merlin couldn't help but feel a small twinge of envy towards Grayton. How many times had Merlin done all of those things, and more, and never gotten any credit? But he shouldn't complain, it was his own fault he never got any credit anyway, since Arthur and the others didn't know about his magic.

"Like I said, he's a good man," Merlin repeated, watching Arthur carefully. He didn't understand what the king was trying to get at.

"But he's a sorcerer," Arthur muttered, almost to himself. "He's a good man… and a sorcerer. How can that be?"

Butterflies shot through Merlin's stomach. He suddenly realized this was a moment in a million. For these next few seconds, Arthur's heart might be open a bit to the idea that not all magic is evil. He couldn't let this go.

"Perhaps… magic is not all it seems," Merlin said gently, trying not to show how anxious he was feeling. "Perhaps there are some that do magic that mean no harm."

Arthur didn't move a muscle. "Do you believe that , Merlin?" he asked quietly. The tone of his voice told Merlin Arthur wasn't asking as his king. He was asking as his friend.

"Yes," the warlock responded simply, his heart hammering in his chest. He was hanging on Arthur's every action now, hoping for a sign that he agreed with him.

The king remained frozen in his chair, lost in thought, for a long moment.

"Thank you Merlin. That will be all," he said. Merlin nodded and turned to leave the room. Arthur needed to be alone, to think things through on his own.

As he left Arthur's chambers and walked down the hall toward the kitchen, Merlin couldn't keep back the bright smile that burst onto his face. It would take time, but Arthur was coming around. Merlin couldn't shake the feeling that he wouldn't have to keep his secret for much longer.

* * *

Later that day Merlin found himself down in the armory polishing Arthur's armor. In truth, he really wasn't sure why the prat had him doing this chore, since he hadn't been wearing his armor much of late. Leon, Percival, and Elyan were still too weak to train, and Gwaine's wrist had become worse since he hadn't rested it like he should have. Arthur did a bit of training on his own, but there was only so much he could do alone and the other knights weren't skilled enough to keep up with him.

It really was pointless to keep polishing, Merlin decided. The armor was practically as good as new anyway. He doubted Arthur would even notice that it wasn't done.

Merlin stood up and was about to put the armor away when he suddenly became aware of someone standing behind him. It was strange, he hadn't heard anyone open the door, and the knights were not known for being stealthy.

"Hello, Emrys," came a soft voice. Merlin turned quickly, knocking some of Arthur's armor onto the floor with a loud crash. Grayton flinched at the noise and gave Merlin an apologetic look. "Sorry. I didn't mean to startle you."

"Grayton!" Merlin cried, very much surprised. "What are you doing here?"

The young sorcerer shuffled a bit, looking a little awkward. "I just… thought I owed you an explanation. And… I wanted to thank you."

Merlin frowned. "Thank me? Why?"

"You said you trusted me. In front of the king. That… that means the world to me, Emrys. I promise I won't betray that trust," he said hurriedly, as if he were afraid he wouldn't be able to get it all out. "Also, your king freed me. He killed Lord Dareth. I am no longer bound to a mad-man's will. I didn't know if I'd be able to thank your king in person, so I thought I could just go through you. So, anyway… thanks."

Merlin broke into a smile. It warmed his heart to see such goodness in a fellow sorcerer. Merlin knew not all who practiced magic were evil, he himself was an example of that, but when just about the only magic-users he encounters were out to take over Camelot or kill Arthur, it got lonely. It was wonderful to know there was another sorcerer out there who didn't want power or revenge.

"Actually Grayton, I think owe you a thank you as well," Merlin said, stepping up to the young man and putting a hand on his shoulder. Grayton's eyes grew wide.

"Why would you be thanking me? I… I kidnapped you!"

"No, you didn't," Merlin said firmly. "Lord Dareth did. Don't you dare mistake his actions for your own."

Grayton's face lit up a little. He nodded.

"And I need to thank you for what you've shown Arthur," Merlin continued. "You showed him that magic can be used for good, that magic itself is not the root of the evil. You helped light the way to a Camelot where magic can be used freely. And for that, I am indebted to you."

Grayton was simply glowing, but he shook his head. "No, you can't be indebted to me, Emrys. I am happy to do whatever I can to help the prophecy come true."

"My name is Merlin," Merlin said simply. "And I am indebted to any who help with the creation of Albion."

Grayton nodded, smiling even wider. Merlin motioned for him to sit down on one of the stools in the armory, taking a seat on another one beside him.

"So, Grayton, I am curious. How is it that you know of the prophecy in the first place? Before, you mentioned your mother…" Merlin asked, remembering the conversation they'd had back in Dareth's lair.

Grayton bit his lip. "Yes. My mother told me of them. She was a druid."

"How did she end up married to Lord Dareth?" Merlin asked, a bit confused. Dareth didn't seem the type to marry a druid.

Grayton grimaced. "My parents weren't married. They barely even knew each other. When my father was younger, he liked to travel all over Albion. He spent one night with my mother whilst passing through the forest. I am the result."

"My parents weren't married either," Merlin said assuredly. Then a new thought crossed his mind. "How did your father find out about you if your parents barely knew each other?"

Grayton's face hardened. "My mother showed me to him. She had no choice. It was in the middle of the Great Purge, and life as a druid was dangerous, even for those not in Camelot. We were starving. My mother became desperate. She hadn't ever meant to show me to my father, but she had no other choice. When I was three years old she took me to my father and begged him to help care for me, as I was his son. She asked for nothing more than some food and shelter, but my father refused. He didn't want to support me, his bastard son from a druid woman. He commanded his guards to force me and my mother out."

Grayton paused a moment. Merlin was watching him with concern, sympathy racking his soul.

"I…I don't remember what happened. I was too young, I suppose. But my mother later told me that I was so frightened by Dareth's men, and the way they were treating me and my mother, that I lashed out with magic and shoved them across the room. It was the first time I'd used magic, and my father saw it all. Almost instantly he changed his mind. He provided a small cottage for us to live in within the safety of his lands, and gave us food and water. We were happy there for a short time, but then we found out his charity was not free. He had researched the ancient magics in his youth, and knew about blood-binding. He told my mother to blood-bind me to him, or he would revoke his protection and leave us to the wolves. My mother didn't want to, and at first she refused. But after several weeks, she decided that she'd rather have me alive and bound to my father's will, than free and dead. So she agreed to my father's terms. When I was three years old, my mother blood-bound me to my father."

"Your mother did it?" Merlin said suddenly. Grayton nodded wearily.

"She felt she had no choice. She didn't know what Dareth had planned for me. She just knew she had to keep me alive," he explained.

"How did she know how to do it? I thought you said only High Priestesses of the Old Religion knew how to perform the ritual," Merlin asked, feeling a little uneasy.

Despite himself, Grayton smirked a bit. "My mother… how do I say it? She wasn't exactly the most straight-and-narrow sort of druid. Why else do you think she ended up in my father's tent for one night? In her youth she rebelled and left her family, exploring other venues of magic. She wasn't evil, just a bit rebellious and curious. When she became pregnant with me she relented and tried to return home, but she was too late. Most of her druid clan had been slaughtered, leaving her alone. So yes, she knew how to do the ritual. And my father knew that too."

"For the first few years after I became bound to him, my father mostly left us alone. He'd visit every now and then, primarily to command me around and make sure the bonds still were intact. And they were. Like I told you earlier, blood-binding increases its intensity with time. If the ritual were done on me right now, I would probably be able to break free of it before any harm could be done. But at three years old I couldn't do anything about it. By the time I was powerful enough to perhaps have thrown it off, the bond had become too strong. I was trapped."

"My father began to visit more regularly after I turned ten. He would take me out into the woods and tell me to do things, practice my magic. He'd command me to practice while he was gone too, so that I could become stronger and more powerful. Then, when I was fifteen, he took me from my mother. He said it was time for me to be of use. I didn't see her again until just now, when I became free. But I was too late. Since I didn't need her to raise me anymore, my father also had no need for her and threw her out. She died a few years back."

"I'm so sorry," Merlin said. Grayton nodded his thanks, his eyes focused on the ground.

"She told me once her greatest regret was showing me to my father," Grayton said quietly, his voice cracking with emotion. "She was the only person I knew besides my father growing up. She was the only one who loved me."

"You must be a lot like her," Merlin said. Grayton frowned up at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, you are nothing like your father, so you must be like your mother. And if she was anything like you, she must have been a wonderful person." Grayton smiled.

"A wonderful, confused person. That certainly sounds like my mother," the young man said. He blinked hard and shook his head. "But anyway, that's how I ended up blood-bound to my father. And now, thanks you and King Arthur, I am free. For the first time since I can remember."

Merlin grinned at him. "Just out of curiosity, how exactly did you free Camelot?"

Grayton slowly returned the grin. "Dareth's men are used to me popping in and telling them to do things for my father. I simply showed up at the commander's door and told him my father wanted to release Camelot. He was very confused, but he believed me since he thought I was still bound to my father. I led them away from the city and back to Odin's court. Simple."

"I wonder if they've figured out Dareth is dead yet," Merlin added. Grayton shrugged.

"I don't know. I think they're still awaiting his orders. One of these days I might pop in on them and tell them to go do something crazy, just for fun. They have no idea my father's dead and I'm free." Grayton stood up and stretched, grinning down at Merlin.

"Well, I need to go. I'm sure King Arthur has chores for you to do, and I have some business of my own to attend to," he said as Merlin stood up beside him.

"Business? What kind of business?" Merlin asked. Grayton shrugged.

"I was thinking of doing some more research on potions. I am rather good at them, you know. Maybe one of these days I could become a healer, or something. I think I'd like that."

"I think you'd be an excellent healer, Grayton," Merlin responded. Grayton frowned.

"Actually, there is one more thing I'd like to do while I'm here. Just to make it official."

"Yes?" Merlin prompted. Grayton's face hardened again.

"I no longer want to go by the name Grayton. It is what my father called me, and it is a name connected to his ancestors. I no longer want to be connected in any way with that man."

Merlin cocked his head. "So what do you want to be called then?"

The young man's eyes lit up. "Eirian. A blessing. That is what my mother named me."

Merlin extended his hand. "Very well, Eirian. I am sure we will meet again."

Eirian took Merlin's hand and shook it. "I'm sure we will, Merlin. I look forward to the fulfillment of the prophecy."

Then the young sorcerer turned and left the armory, a spring in his step.

Merlin was still smiling when a few moments later Arthur came marching into the armory.

"You polishing my armor, Merlin? Or just sitting there with that idiotic grin on your face?" he asked mockingly, his arms crossed. Emrys glanced back at the Once and Future King.

"Something like that sire," he responded. Arthur rolled his eyes.

"Well, help me get it on then. Just because my knights are out of commission doesn't mean I don't need to train myself," the king announced, pulling on his chainmail.

"Of course not. Then you'd be a useless dollop-head instead of just a regular one."

Merlin dodged the punch Arthur aimed at him, but he didn't miss the grateful smile on his friend's face. Things really were going back to normal. Or even better, Merlin thought. Perhaps Albion's dawning day wasn't as far in the future as it seemed.

THE END

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**And there we have it! Thanks again so much for reading and reviewing! :)**

**Just to let you all know, I might have it in me to write a sequel. No promises or ideas right now, so it will be a while, but I feel like there's still a lot of potential with my beloved OC. :) So keep an eye out, and maybe in a few months I'll have something up. **

**Thank you, and farewell for now!**

**-PagiethePanda**


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